Mine, All Mine
by rhymenocerous
Summary: At first, Lindsay is thrilled to be on the receiving end of a romantic gift from her husband. But when Danny admits that it wasn't him, they begin to wonder who it could be from. Rated M for adult language, violence and smut.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: So, here it is! The new story that I promised! Yay! I just want to make it clear that I am not abandoning High School Daze - that story will continue as long as I still have ideas for it...and as long as people keep reading and reviewing ;) But I had some thoughts on something more angsty (yes there will be some hot DL loving, so no worries for you smut fiends out there!) but this was stuff that just didn't fit into HSD, so I figured why not start something new? I really hope it is up to your high standards and doesn't disappoint!**

**Oh, and if you don't like this story, please blame my muse. As I told my friend Brinchen86, my muse doesn't whisper to me. Instead she stands on a chair and bellows at me through a bullhorn until I write what she wants. I literally have no choice! **

**Disclaimer: All characters from CSI NY belong to CBS, and not me. Boo.**

* * *

Lindsay quickly stepped out of the elevator. She had woken late and then she had had to deal with a very cranky Lucy who had not wanted to go to daycare this morning. She had kicked and screamed in protest as Lindsay had hurried to get her dressed and ready for the day ahead. And just as Lindsay had finished getting herself ready, she had turned to find that Lucy had completely undressed herself, and she'd had to start the whole painful process all over again. So now she was frazzled and late and not at all in a good mood.

She walked briskly down the hall to her office, pushing open the door and dropping her bag beside her desk before she collapsed into her chair. She leaned her elbows on the desk and ran her fingers through her hair, taking a deep breath to try to collect herself before she turned her attention to the pile of paperwork stacked on the corner of her desk. She bent down and turned on her computer. As she straightened up and sat back in her chair, waiting for her computer to boot, she saw it. It was a single red rose with a white ribbon tied around the stem, and it was accompanied by a small envelope that was propped up against her monitor. The envelope was addressed to Ms. Lindsay Monroe.

She didn't recognize the printing, and the name on the front of the envelope confused her. She and Danny had been married for almost two years now, and she had long ago changed her name. So who could possibly be sending her a letter addressed to her maiden name? All of her friends and family had accepted her married name and had long since called her Lindsay Messer.

Lindsay smiled as she thought about her name. Messer. It was the name she now shared with her husband and their daughter. It was like their own little exclusive club, and it was one that she was so very proud to belong to. But curiosity was quickly overtaking her, so she reached out and picked up the envelope, turning it over in her hands. It was a plain, white, card-sized envelope.

Slipping her finger under the sealed flap, she ran her finger along the seam, tearing open the envelope. Peaking inside, she saw that it was in fact a card. She pulled it out and smiled at the picture on the front. It was a collage of flowers and hearts, with the words Thinking Of You written across the top in a loopy font. She opened the card and read the handwritten inscription inside;

_Ms. Monroe_

_You are constantly in my thoughts, and I find myself looking forward to the time that we can be together again, my darling._

_All my love,_

_D_

Lindsay smiled down at the card. It was a little weird, but she thought that it was very romantic of Danny to leave her something like this. They had spent the past few days passing each other like ships in the night, and she couldn't actually remember having an real conversation with him outside of work for at least a week.

She lifted the rose to her nose, inhaling its sweet scent as she tried to think back... was it an important anniversary for them? They had gotten in the habit of celebrating the small milestones in their relationship; their first kiss, their first date, the first time they made love. Thinking hard, Lindsay couldn't pinpoint a specific event, but maybe Danny had simply wanted to surprise her.

She smiled as she placed the card and the flower on her desk beside a framed photograph of her family. The photo had been taken nearly a year ago on Lucy's first birthday, and in it she and Danny were crouched down on either side of Lucy as she blew out her birthday candles. All three faces were smiling back at her from the beautiful and simple frame that Danny had picked out for her. She reached out her finger and lovingly stroked his face. She would definitely have to come up with an appropriate way to thank him for brightening what she had thought was going to be a terrible day.

Her attention was brought back to her work as her computer finished booting up. She stretched before taking the file from the top of the stack in front of her and flipping it open, her mind instantly focusing on the details of the case before her, and the troubles of her morning were quickly forgotten.

* * *

Danny and Flack were on their way back to the lab from the crime scene they had been called to that morning. On the ride back to the lab, their discussion had focused on the previous night's Rangers game and they were bantering playfully on the elevator ride back up to the 35th floor.

Their light-hearted argument continued as they made their way to the locker room so Danny could drop off his bag and return the jacket he had borrowed from Flack the previous day before they headed their separate ways; Flack to the precinct and Danny to the lab to begin processing the evidence he had collected that morning. Flack waited in the hall, talking to one of the lab techs about evidence from a previous case, while Danny proceeded into the locker room. As he pushed open the door, Danny smiled as he saw his wife standing at her locker hanging up her sweater. At the sound of the door opening, she looked up and gave him a wide smile.

"Hey, babe," he said as he walked over to her. He leaned down to give her a soft peck on the cheek, but she surprised him by turning her head and meeting his lips with her own in what quickly turned into a very passionate kiss. Her hands slid up his chest and tangled in his hair as she pushed him back against the lockers, her mouth hungrily exploring his own.

"Hey yourself," she said, as she pulled away from the kiss, resting her forehead against his.

"Wow," Danny said breathlessly. "Whatever I did to deserve that, let me know so that I can do it again."

Lindsay grinned up at him, her fingers playing with the short hairs on the back of his neck. "Oh, you know what you did, baby," she whispered. "And thank you. I was having such a shitty morning until I saw your surprise. You just, you made my day, Dan."

Danny pulled back a bit, his brow furrowed in confusion. "What are you talking about, Linds?" he asked. "What surprise?"

Lindsay looked up at her husband. Her smile faltered as she saw the genuine look of confusion on his face. "The... the card, Dan," she said hesitantly, "And the flower. It was beautiful."

Danny took a step back from his wife, his hands falling from where they had been resting on her hips. He shook his head, his expression turning from confusion to concern. "Linds, I didn't leave you those things," he said, his heart breaking just a little bit at the look of sheer disappointment on her face. "Baby, I'm sorry, but I never made it to the lab this morning. Flack picked me up outside our apartment and we went straight to the scene."

Lindsay's mind was reeling. She knew Danny, and knew that he always took great pleasure in leaving her little surprises to show how much he cared for her. But his sincerity was unnerving her a bit. Why would he deny leaving her the gift? It didn't make sense. She turned her attention to the other man in the room. Flack had entered a moment before, but had discreetly turned his attention to a magazine lying on the bench, giving his married friends a modicum of privacy.

"Don?" Lindsay asked.

"Yeah, Linds?" Flack replied, looking up from the magazine.

"Is it true? You guys never made it to the lab earlier this morning?"

Flack nodded his head. "Yeah, that's right. I picked Dan up about a block from your place when Mac called and said he needed us at a scene ASAP. Sorry, Linds." Sensing that his friend was going to be tied up for longer than he initially intended, Flack told Danny that he would pick up his jacket later. He smiled at Lindsay and gave Danny a supportive nod before turning and walking out the door.

Lindsay slowly turned back to Danny. He looked hurt and worried. Hurt that she hadn't believed him, and worried that his wife was receiving romantic gifts from a stranger.

"Danny, I'm sorry. I..." she was cut off as Danny began to talk over her.

"It's fine, Lindsay," he said shortly. She winced at his tone, and her reaction did not go unnoticed by him. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "It's just, I don't like the thought of you getting gifts like that from anyone other than me." He ran his hands through his hair and gave her a lopsided smile. "Any idea who it's from?" he asked.

Lindsay shook her head. "I have no idea. It was signed _All My Love, D_, so I assumed it was from you." She took a tentative step forward, placing her hand on his stubbled cheek. "Danny, I really don't know who it's from, okay? Please, don't be upset."

Danny took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I'm not mad at _you_, Linds," he said, reaching up to the hand that was caressing his cheek, interlacing his fingers with hers. He softly kissed the back of her hand before pulling her toward him and wrapping his arms around her, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "I'm just pissed that some asshole has the balls to send my wife something like that. Are you sure it's not from your dad or a relative or something?"

Lindsay slipped her arms around Danny's waist, her face tucked into the crook of his neck. She tightened her grip around him before responding. "Definitely not. The way it was worded... it sounded romantic. Not something that a relative or a friend would send."

"Okay," Danny said, pressing a soft kiss to his wife's forehead. "Was there any indication of who it came from? Anything unusual about it? A return address? _Anything_?"

Lindsay's head snapped up as realization struck her. "It wasn't addressed to _me_, Danny!" she said. Seeing the confused expression on her husband's face, she explained. "No, it was addressed to me, but me _two years ago_. Danny, it was addressed to Lindsay Monroe. Whoever sent it doesn't realized that I'm married now."

Danny carefully considered this information. "Could it be from an old boyfriend or something? Someone that you haven't had contact with in a long time?"

Lindsay shrugged her shoulders. "I have no idea, Dan," she replied honestly. "I really don't. Everyone who means something to me knows that I'm married. Whoever it is, babe, they're not important, okay?"

Danny reached up and ran his fingers lovingly down her cheek. "I know, Linds," he said softly. "I trust you. But I just don't like it, and I can't pretend that I'm okay with this."

"Danny, honey," she said as she pressed a soft kiss to his chin, "The only reason I was so excited was because I thought it was from you. You're the only one for me, Dan. No one else. Ever. I'll get rid of them, if they make you uncomfortable."

She looked into Danny's deep blue eyes and saw the love he felt for her reflected there. He gave her a small smile before nodding his head. "Please," he whispered. "I'll get you something nicer."

"You don't have to do that babe," she replied as she smiled up at him. "But I won't stop you if you want to spoil me just a little," she said as she gave him a cheeky wink.

"Hmm, spoiling my girls is my favourite thing to do," Danny said, leaning down to place a soft and loving kiss to Lindsay's lips. He felt her smile into his kiss as her arms tightened around his waist, holding him to her. He felt himself getting lost in the sensation of their kiss until he suddenly realized where they were. With a soft moan, he pulled away.

"Why'd you stop?" Lindsay groaned as she rested her forehead against his chest.

Danny chuckled. "We're at work, sweetie," he said, rubbing her back in a soothing gesture.

"So?" Lindsay said, and he could tell she was smirking.

"So? I like getting a regular pay check," he said. "And I know Flack won't rat us out, but not everyone is as understanding as he is."

Lindsay sighed before she untangled herself from her husband. She gave him a small smile before leaning forward and checking her appearance in the tiny mirror stuck to the inside of her locker door. Her cheeks were a bit flushed and her lips were swollen, but other than that, she looked alright. She ran her fingers through her hair and reached into her pocket to retrieve her lip-gloss which she quickly applied. Satisfied that she looked as normal as possible considering the circumstances, she gave Danny a quick once-over to ensure that he too looked presentable.

She closed her locker and walked out of the locker room side by side with her husband, the backs of their hands brushing against one another. When they reached their office, she noticed Danny's gaze travelled immediately to the flower and card displayed on her desk. He frowned down at them before dropping his stuff on the floor under his desk. Lindsay winked at him as she reached out and picked up the card and the flower. Without a second thought, she dropped them into the wastepaper basket that sat between their desks.

**

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**

Eek! So... Yay? Nay? Are we interested? Or are we bored? Please let me know if this is a story you would like to see continue. I have a lot of ideas for this story and how things will escalate, so please give this fic a chance! *crosses fingers*

**Read and review. Pretty pretty please?**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Wow. So many wonderful reviews after just one chapter! I can't thank you all enough for the comments I received. I'm so glad that you like the start to this story. I hope you stick around and see where I'm going with this... I hope that you won't be disappointed!**

**So without further ado, enjoy Chapter 2.**

* * *

Lindsay rolled over in bed, her mind was still working, still focused on the events of the day. There was nothing particularly wrong, but there was just something that she couldn't get out of her mind. Something that just didn't feel right. She sighed and fidgeted restlessly for another moment. She was about to throw the covers off of her and get up, realizing that her tossing and turning was eventually going to wake Danny.

As she grabbed a fistful of the bed covers to lift them off of herself, she felt the first stirrings from the other side of the bed. She quickly lowered the blanket back down on herself and closed her eyes, feigning sleep.

"S'matter, Linds?" Danny's sleepy voice came to her out of the darkness.

She didn't respond, hoping that he would just go back to sleep. A nauseating feeling started to spread up from the pit of her stomach and she swallowed hard to get rid of the unpleasant sensation.

"Linds? Lindsay?" Danny's voice sounded more alert now. She sighed to herself and opened her eyes, only to see him lying on his stomach, propped up on his forearms, staring at her with a look of concern on his face.

"Hmm? Nothing," she said, rubbing her eyes. "Go back to sleep, baby. I'm fine."

"Bullshit," Danny said, adjusting himself so that he was laying on his side, his head resting on her pillow. She felt his arms as they slipped around her waist, pulling her toward him. "You're a terrible liar, Montana. I've been listening to you toss and turn for at least ten minutes. What's wrong, babe?"

Lindsay sunk back against her pillows, resting her hands on Danny's forearm that was holding her to him. She hazarded a quick glance up at him. He looked tired but alert. And worried. "It's nothing, really Dan," she said. "I just... have things on my mind and I can't sleep."

Danny smiled reassuringly at her before leaning in and pressing a soft and loving kiss to her cheek. "What kinds of things are keeping my beautiful wife up all night long?" he whispered in her ear. "Anything you want to talk about?"

She adjusted herself so that she could nuzzle her face into Danny's neck, taking comfort in his familiar masculine scent. "I got another one, Dan."

"Another what, Linds?" Danny asked, skimming his hand up and down her arm in a soothing motion.

"Another gift... of the anonymous variety."

Lindsay felt Danny's entire body tense as he processed what she had said. He stopped moving, stopped breathing. He completely froze, his hand lying motionless on her arm. The words hung in the air, hovering above them like a dark cloud.

Lindsay looked up at Danny and was dismayed to see such a pained expression on his face. "Danny? Honey? What are you thinking?"

Danny slowly released the breath he had been holding, and she felt his hands clench into fists, then slowly release as he attempted to control his emotions. She let one hand slip up to his face so that she was cupping his cheek in the palm of her hand. "Danny, please talk to me," she said as she gently stroked her thumb across his cheek.

He looked down at her, his blue eyes looking steely in the cold moonlight of their room. "When?" was all he asked. It was only one word, and his tone had simply been inquiring, but Lindsay knew that he was hurt that this was something that had been bothering her all day and for a better part of the night, and he was only finding out about it now.

"When I got to work this morning... it was in my desk drawer."

Danny leaned away from her so that he was lying on his back on the bed. Removing his arms from around his wife, he brought his hands up to scrub them over his face, letting out a deep sigh as he did so.

"Danny?" she asked, reaching out and placing a calming hand on his bare chest.

"What was it?" he asked, his voice muffled by the barrier of his hands still covering his face.

Lindsay swallowed and began toying with his dog tags, gathering her thoughts. "It was a bear. A... a little teddy bear. He was pink with a big read heart in his hands... and there was another card..."

Lindsay paused in mid-sentence as Danny let out a frustrated groan. She hung her head, hating to hear how upset she had made Danny, wishing that she had never woken him. She began to sniffle as she felt the hot sting of the tears that were forming behind her eyes. Danny was usually so talkative and so affectionate, and she knew that his taciturn behaviour, paired with the fact that he had pulled away from her, meant that he was seriously upset about this. "Baby? Please talk to me," she said softly, trying hard not to let her emotions reflect in her voice.

Relief surged through her as Danny slowly lowered his hands from his face, one coming to rest on his stomach, the other reaching up and tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked quietly.

"I'm sorry, honey," she said. "I guess I just didn't want to bother you with it. And to be honest, I kind of forgot about it until I saw it in my drawer again as I was getting ready to come home from work. I was going to tell you when you got home, but I saw that you were so tired... and Lucy just wanted to spend some time with you. So I dropped it."

Danny closed his eyes and she could see that he was trying to choose his next words carefully, not wanting to overreact. Finally he opened his eyes, trailing his fingers down her cheek and affectionately pinching her chin before giving her a small smile. "Linds, I know I'm not always the easiest guy in the world to talk to," he said. "But you mean the world to me. And when I see that something is bothering you, and you're keeping it from me to spare _my _feelings?" Danny shook his head, smiling sadly at her. "I don't want you to bottle things up, Linds. It's not good for you... or for us." He gently wiped away the tears that had begun to trail down her cheek. "What did the card say this time?" he asked softly.

Lindsay reached up to where his hand lay on her cheek and gave his fingers a gentle squeeze before pushing herself up from the bed. She padded out of the room and he heard her rustling around in her bag. Then he listened as her footsteps brought her back to the room, a small pink bear clutched in one hand and a card in the other. She sat down on the edge of the bed and hesitated for a moment before handing him the card. On the cover was a bouquet of red roses with the words _You're Mine _scrawled out in a flowy script. Taking a deep breath, Danny flipped open the card to see the words inscribed inside;

_Lindsay,_

_Don't worry my love, we will be together again soon._

_As always, your loving_

_D_

Danny held the card in his shaking hand. He looked up at Lindsay, her deep brown eyes clouded by fear. "I don't like this, Linds," he said quietly, reaching out and taking her in his arms. She leaned back against his chest, letting his strong arms wrap themselves around her in a protective embrace.

"I don't either, Dan," she whispered. "I... I don't know who this is coming from... or what he wants."

Danny let out a sharp bark of laughter. "I think it's pretty clear what he wants, babe," he said, tightening his grip on her. "He wants you."

"Well, he can't have me," Lindsay said, grasping Danny's hands in her own and interlacing their fingers. "I'm taken."

Danny smiled as he pressed a soft kiss to her neck, just below her jaw. "Mine," he growled in her ear. At this one word, Lindsay felt a flutter of heat slowly rise from low down in her core.

"All yours, Danny," she said as she turned her head, her lips meeting his in a fiery and possessive kiss. She felt Danny open his mouth, his tongue darting out to meet her own. She let out a soft sigh as she ran her tongue along his lower lip before she gently nipped on the tip of his tongue, causing him to moan.

"Linds," he breathed as he pulled away from the kiss, resting his forehead against her shoulder, "We should take these in to work tomorrow, see if we can find out where they came from."

"Okay, baby," Lindsay said, kissing the side of his face. She brought her hand up to guide his lips back to hers. "Tomorrow."

"I'm serious, Lindsay," Danny said, his voice husky at the sheer desire he saw reflected in his wife's face.

"Tomorrow, baby," Lindsay said again as she continued to place gentle kisses to his jaw, slowly making her way down his neck toward his collar bone. She smiled as he let out a soft moan of appreciation as her lips found the sensitive spot where his chest met his neck and she began sucking lightly.

"Tomorrow," he panted, his eyes closing as he rested his head back against the pillows, letting the sensations of his wife's lips on his body take over. He dropped the card to the floor by the side of the bed and slid his hands up her sides, pulling her over on top of him. She let out a soft shriek as she felt the evidence of his arousal pressing into her hip.

"Oh, God, baby," she panted as she felt him begin to slowly gyrate underneath her, pushing his erection up against her. "Fuck me, Danny," she said, "Show me that I'm yours. No one can fuck me like you can."

"Jesus, Linds," he breathed as his cock strained against his boxer shorts, the feeling of her taught body moving against his own only making him harder. "You're mine. Only mine."

As the words left his mouth, he grabbed her and quickly flipped them over so that he was on top of her. He held himself up on his arms so that he hovered above her, the only part of him touching her was his lips as they brushed softly against the skin of her neck.

"Say it again, Danny," she whispered as her hands reached up and gripped his waist, pulling him down so that he lay on top of her. She wrapped her legs around his hips, her heels pressing into his ass as she began so rock herself up against him. He let out a moan of frustration at the fabric of their night clothes that still separated them. "Say it again," Lindsay demanded. "Say that I'm yours."

"Your mine, baby," Danny panted. He could feel the wetness of her own arousal seeping through the fabric of her pyjama bottoms as her core pressed against the skin of his stomach and it made his cock ache with longing. "I want to fuck you, Linds."

"Then do it already, Danny. I need to feel you, baby," Lindsay said, scraping her nails down his back. "I'm all yours, Danny. Only yours."

That was all that Danny could stand. The need to be buried deep inside of her was overwhelming him now. He quickly pushed himself up off of her, off of the bed. He hurriedly pushed his boxers down his legs, stepping out of them before he reached down and grabbed Lindsay's pyjama bottoms and ripped them off her legs, leaving her exposed to him. He looked down at her lying on the bed. Her face was flushed, her legs bent at the knees and spread wide so that he got the perfect view of her slick wetness that was waiting for him... and only him.

"Fuck, baby," Danny said licking his lips as he moved forward. He knelt on the edge of the bed, reaching out and placing his hands on her knees, spreading her legs wider. "You're so wet. God, I want you so bad, baby."

Lindsay responded by running her fingers down her body, over her still-covered breasts until her fingers rested on her curls. He watched with wide eyes as her index finger slowly slid down further until it reached her folds. His breath hitched in his throat as she began to rub her clit for him, her legs twitching under his hands as the sensations coursed out from her core, electrifying her body. "Fuck," he breathed. He didn't think it was humanly possible to be any more turned on than he was at this particular moment, until he watched as his wife slid her finger further down until it disappeared inside of her as her hips bucked up to deepen the penetration of her digit. "Fuck," he said again, his voice breaking with the strength of his arousal.

"Mmm, Danny," Lindsay moaned as her finger continued to pump in and out of her centre. "Danny, please, baby. Please touch me, love me, fuck me. I'm so wet for you baby. I need you."

Danny wasted no time before he skimmed his hands down her thighs and replaced her hand with his own, moaning out loud at the wetness he found waiting for him. With one hand he inserted two fingers into her, pumping with short quick thrusts while with his other hand he traced firm circles on her clit. Lindsay pushed her head back into the pillow, biting her lip and spreading her legs even wider for him, her hips rocking up to meet his movements. Her hands trailed back up her body as her fingers found her breasts through the fabric of he tank top and she began to tease her nipples with light little flicks and twists with her fingers.

"Oh God! Danny!" she panted before a loud groan of pleasure erupted from her lips. "Fuck, that feels so good, Danny."

"You like that, baby?" Danny asked, smirking down at her, knowing exactly what her answer would be.

"Yes! Yes! Yes!" she cried out as he felt the first spasms of her orgasm as her inner walls tightened around his fingers. She gave one final tilt of her hips and held her position as he continued to slide his fingers in and out of her as her orgasm rocked her body. "Fuck! Oh, my God!"

Danny continued moving his fingers until he felt the last wave of her orgasm pass. He slid his fingers out of her and crawled up her body ensuring that he pressed his now painful erection up against her as he leaned down to kiss her, their lips meeting in a heated and desperate kiss.

"I love it when you do that," Lindsay panted as she pulled away from the kiss, running her fingers through her husband's short hair.

"When I do what?" Danny asked smugly as he bent down to kiss her shoulder.

She reached down and smacked his ass before replying. "When you fuck me with your fingers, smartass," she said.

"Oh that," Danny said, smiling as he raised himself up so he could look Lindsay in the eye.

"Yeah, that," Lindsay said, once again wrapping her legs around his hips. "But I like it better when you fuck me with this," she whispered as she reached down and firmly took hold of Danny's cock, stroking him slowly. He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against her shoulder as he felt her talented fingers tracing firm and loving patterns on his throbbing erection.

Unable to take it anymore, Danny sat up once again and unhooked her legs from around him. "Turn over," he demanded.

"Why would I want to do that?" she asked, looking up at him coyly.

He leaned down until his face was mere inches from hers. "Do you want me to fuck you, or don't you?" he growled at her. He smirked as he saw the fire of lust rekindled in her eyes at his question.

Without a word, Lindsay turned over on her stomach so that her perfect, shapely ass was displayed to him. He reached down and ran his hands over the soft swell of her backside before he moved so that he was positioned between her knees. He slipped his hands under her hips, pulling her up so that she was kneeling while leaning forward, her weight supported by her forearms. Then he leaned in and pressed his erection up against her tight entrance.

He slowly began to slide himself into her, moaning at the feeling of being inside her. He pressed until he had penetrated her fully and then he immediately pulled back out until only his tip remained inside of her. He felt her body shudder at the feeling, and she let out a soft moan of satisfaction as he entered her once again, faster this time.

"Fuck, Linds," Danny panted as his thrusts came faster and harder, "God, you feel so good, baby."

"You're so deep, Danny," Lindsay moaned as he pounded into her. "Harder. God, I want you to fuck me harder than you ever have before, baby."

Letting out a groan of desire, Danny tightened his grip on his wife's hips as he adjusted his position, better enabling himself to go faster, harder, and deeper. At the sound of Lindsay calling out in delight, he assumed that whatever he was doing, he was doing it right.

"Fuck! Right there! Shit! Oh, fuck, Danny! Right there! Oh, God, don't stop!"

Danny could feel the himself getting closer and closer to his release, and his carefully rhythmical thrusts were becoming more and more erratic as he approached the edge. "How close are you, Linds?" he asked.

"Close," she panted.

"How close?" he asked again, "Because I'm so close, babe. I'm gonna come soon."

At his words, Lindsay pushed her upper body up off the bed so that her back was pressed up against Danny. She reached back and cupped Danny's cheek with one hand while the other snaked down her front until it came to her clit. She began to rub furiously, keeping pace with Danny's thrusts. She looked up and saw their reflection in the oversize mirror they had installed in their bedroom ages ago. She watched as her own hand disappeared between her thighs and sighed as she looked up to see Danny's face in the throes of passion. His eyes were closed and she could tell by his grunts that he was close.

She turned her head and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "Open your eyes, baby," she whispered. "I want you to watch while you make me come."

Danny's eyes flew open and his blue eyes met her brown ones in their reflection in the mirror. "God, you're so fucking hot, Montana," he grunted as he once again picked up the pace of his thrusts. Lindsay in turn ground her hips back into his, deepening their connection. She soon found her own hand replaced by his as his fingers masterfully sought out her clit.

"I'm so close, Danny," she panted as she began to fee the telltale signs of her approaching orgasm as his fingers and cock worked to bring her to the edge. "Tell me that I belong to you, Danny."

"Fuck, Linds," Danny panted as he felt her walls start to convulse around him. "You're mine, Lindsay. You belong to me. No one else can have you."

Lindsay let out a low moan that quickly escalated into a shriek of ecstasy as she felt her body begin to tense up. Danny watched their reflection in the mirror as his wife came undone in his arms. His own breath was becoming more and more ragged as he neared his climax. As her orgasm coursed through her body, causing her to shudder and jerk in his arms, Danny could hold on no longer and as he called her name out he felt himself let go and he spilled deep inside of her.

He held her in his arms, both of their chests heaving with their exertion, their hearts pounding in their ears. Danny pressed a soft kiss to her neck before he began to untangle his arms from her and slide himself out of her. She collapsed onto the bed, fully sated by their rambunctious and desperate lovemaking, and he lay down beside her, skimming his hand lovingly down her back until coming to rest on her backside.

Lindsay turned her head to look at her husband. She couldn't imagine anyone in the world making her feel as good as he did. He filled her up, not only in the sexual sense, but he also filled her life with love and support, laughter and friendship, something that no other man had ever been able to do for her. She felt safe in his arms. She pushed the unpleasant thoughts from earlier out of her mind as she wiggled over until her head was resting on Danny's chest. She curled up so that her body perfectly formed to his.

"Say it again, Danny," she whispered to him. She watched as his eyes began to droop sleepily. He gave her a drowsy smile before he pulled her closer to him, kissing the tip of her nose.

"You're my girl, Montana," he said. She smiled at him as she listened to his breathing begin to slow down and even out.

"All yours," she said as she snuggled down against him. Soon her own breathing evened out and they both slept soundly without another thought about the small, pink bear that now sat on Lindsay's nightstand.

**

* * *

**

Oh, did I forget to mention that there's smut in this chapter? Whoopsie do! *bats eyelashes innocently*

**Did we like it? Was it smutty enough? Are we wanting more? Did anyone catch the reference to my other stories **_**Cheer Up Danny **_**and **_**High School Daze**_**? One hundred million points to you if you did! ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Wow. So many wonderful reviews. I just don't know how to thank you all for the interest you have shown in this story so far! And I'm sorry for sneaking in that smut on you. I should have put a warning so that no one got OJ up their nose or something like that. ;) But, as you'll soon find out, there is a method to my madness.**

**I would just like to give a bit of a warning for this chapter. If you are not a fan of making our favourite couple very uncomfortable, or seeing them put into some very awkward situations, please stop reading. This story is not for you. **

**There. Now I feel better. You have all been forewarned and are going into these next few chapters with open eyes.**

* * *

Danny was just getting out of the shower when he heard the phone ring. As he wrapped a towel around his waist he heard Lindsay answer the phone and from the part of the conversation he could overhear, he knew that it was Mac calling to give them instructions for work that morning. He wiped the fog from the mirror with his hand and contemplated the reflection he saw there. He was just pondering whether or not he should shave when the bathroom door opened and Lindsay poked her head in.

"That Mac?" Danny asked, running his fingers across the stubble on his cheeks.

"Mmm hmm," Lindsay responded, opening the door fully and joining him in the bathroom. She wiggled herself in between Danny's body and the counter and lifted her hands to run her own fingers over his face. "He wants us to go straight to a scene this morning. There was a shooting in a diner and he wants us to get started as soon as possible."

Danny sighed. "So, no time for shaving?"

Lindsay grinned up at him, touching the tip of her nose to his and giving him an affectionate Eskimo kiss. "I like you all scruffy like this," she said.

"Oh yeah?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows at her. "Who you calling scruffy?"

"You. I like it when you have a bit of stubble. It's kind of sexy," she said. She giggled as Danny leaned down and gently tickled her shoulder with his cheeks, leaving her skin tingling from the feeling of the short hairs as they brushed against her.

"Well, okay then," Danny said pulling back and smiling down at his wife. "I guess I'll be sexy for you today, Montana."

Lindsay smacked his bare chest before wrapping her arms around him and pulling him into a tight hug. "You're sexy for me everyday, cowboy," she said.

"You can't say things like that when we're in a hurry, Linds," Danny said as he ran his hands over her back.

"You think so, huh?" Lindsay challenged him, leaning back from their embrace and winking at him. "Just watch me."

And with that she ducked out of his arms, grabbing the towel that was wrapped around his waist and pulling it away from his body, letting it drop on the floor as she walked out of the bathroom giggling. Danny stood, naked, in the bathroom with the towel pooled around his ankles. He shook his head, a smile plastered across his face. "I'm just a piece of meat to you, aren't I, Montana?" he called after her.

"You better believe it, baby!" was her response. "Now stop stalling and get that sexy ass of yours ready for work."

Danny bent down to retrieve the towel, hanging it up on his hook on the back of the door before he flicked off the bathroom light and headed down the hall to their bedroom to get dressed and ready for the day.

* * *

As she and Danny were on their way to the crime scene, Lindsay's cell phone began to ring. She reached down into her bag to retrieve it. "Lindsay Messer," she said into the receiver.

"Lindsay, it's Mac," said the familiar voice on the other end of the line. "Where are you?"

"Sorry we're a bit behind, Mac," Lindsay said hurriedly, giving Danny a look out of the corner of her eye. "Lucy's sitter was sick, so we had to drive Lucy out to Danny's mom's. We're about five blocks from the scene right now."

"Forget about the scene," Mac said shortly. "I need you both to head back to the lab right now. Something's come up and we need you here."

Lindsay raised her eyebrows. Danny turned to look at her and she placed her hand over the receiver, mouthing _Mac sounds pissed, _at him.

Danny grimaced as he manoeuvred the car through the early morning traffic. Shit. What was Mac so pissed about? They were only a few minutes late, which was fairly impressive seeing as they had driven all the way out to Staten Island before turning around and driving all the way back downtown.

"Okay, yup. I got it. We'll see you in a few minutes, Mac," Lindsay said as she ended the call. She turned to Danny who was glancing at her out of the corner of his eye. "We have to turn around and go back to the lab," she said.

"What? Fuck!" Danny said. "We're practically at the crime scene, and now we have to track all the way back to the lab? Jesus. Did Mac say why?"

Lindsay shook her head. "No. He just said that something had come up and he needs us there right away. He wouldn't got into details over the phone."

Danny sighed and signalled so that he could turn right at the next intersection and double back to the lab. "Did he say who was covering the scene for us? Was he pissed because we're late? What's so important that we can't go back after we process the scene?"

"Danny! I just said I don't know!" Lindsay snapped at him. "Look, I know it's annoying, and I know that you're frustrated with having to drive all over town this morning, but I just finished telling you that Mac didn't tell me why."

"Fine," Danny said, his hands tightly gripping the steering wheel.

They sat in irritated silence for a few moments, Danny concentrating on the traffic in front of him and Lindsay staring out the window beside her. "Shit!" she said, smacking her forehead with the heel of her hand. "Oh shit. Shit!"

"What?" Danny asked glancing at her with concern before quickly turning back to the road in front of him.

"I forgot to grab the bear and the card from home before we left. They're still in our bedroom. Shit!"

Danny sighed. He turned his wrist so that he could look down at his watch. Stopping at a red light, he turned to Lindsay who had her eyes closed and was leaning back against the headrest, her face screwed up in an expression of intense frustration. Keeping one eye on the intersection in front of him, Danny reached across the centre console and gently stroked her cheek with the backs of his fingers. "Hey, Linds," he said softly, "It's okay. I'll drop you at the lab and then go back and get them."

Lindsay furrowed her brow, opening her eyes to look at him. "No, Dan. It's my fault. I don't want you to be any later than we already are. I'll just bring them in tomorrow."

Danny shook his head, his mind made up. "No. No way. We are doing this today," he said. He skimmed his hand down her arm, taking her hand in his and giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "I want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible. I want to know who's sending you this shit."

Out of the corner of his eye, Danny saw the light turn from red to green and as he was about to step on the gas to move forward, the car behind him let out a shrill honk. "Yeah, alright! I'm moving," he yelled. "Jesus. Fucking New Yorkers," he muttered under his breath.

Lindsay bit the inside of her cheeks, trying not to laugh at Danny's outburst. "Babe," she said, her attempt to stifle her giggles failing miserably. "You're a New Yorker."

"Shut up," Danny said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Lindsay grinned at him as he drove. The tension in the car had finally vanished and Lindsay reached out and placed her hand on Danny's thigh, rubbing her thumb over the fabric of his jeans. They drove the rest of the way back to the lab in a much more companionable silence than before and when Danny finally pulled up in front of the lab he turned to see Lindsay leaning across the centre console, her lips pursed, waiting for a kiss.

He obliged her, leaning in and softly pressing his lips to hers. "Love you, Linds," he said as she smiled at him then turned to get out of the car.

"Love you too!" she called out as she closed the door behind her, waiving at him as she turned to walk inside the building.

Sighing, Danny once again pulled out into the throng of traffic, heading back to their home.

* * *

As soon as Lindsay stepped off the elevator onto the 35th floor, she could sense that something was wrong. Usually when she arrived at work, her smiles at her colleagues and co-workers were returned with a friendly _Good morning, Lindsay_. However this morning was different. As the elevator doors opened, she instantly felt that people were avoiding her gaze. As she passed the front desk, Carolyn the receptionist instantly lowered her head, turning away from Lindsay.

Her smile quickly faltered on her face as she received similarly evasive treatment from other people in the lab. One group of white-coated lab technicians standing together in the hall turned and scurried off in the opposite direction when they saw her coming, their faces suddenly turning bright red.

Lindsay was becoming more and more bewildered and concerned by the behaviour as she approached the offices of the detectives in the lab. On her right, she turned to see Mac, Stella, Adam, and Hawkes standing in Mac's office, looking very uncomfortable as they

looked at something on Mac's computer screen. Wanting an answer to the cold shoulders she had been receiving, Lindsay made her way over to the office. As she raised her hand to the door, she noticed that all four people in the room cocked their heads to one side in unison, grimacing at whatever it was they were looking at. Lindsay instantly recognized that behaviour, having seen something very similar several years ago, when she had just started out in the lab.

"Hey guys," she said as she pushed open Mac's door. "Another walrus documentary?" she asked. She stopped dead in her tracks as the heads of all of her colleagues instantly snapped up at her entrance, each and every one of them blushing a deep pink. Lindsay's heart sank as she looked from one to the other of them, and not a single person in the room would meet her gaze. "What's going on?" she asked quietly.

"Guys, can you please excuse us for a few minutes, please?" Mac asked. It was more of a statement than a question, and one by one, Adam, Hawkes and Stella filed out of the room, Stella pausing briefly to reach out and squeeze Lindsay's shoulder before closing the door behind her.

"Where's Danny?" Mac asked, his voice low and serious.

Butterflies were swarming around in her stomach. What the hell was going on? "He.. um, he forgot something... sorry, no, I forgot something at home. He went back to get it for me." Lindsay said nervously.

Mac finally lifted his head, and for the first time since she had entered the lab, someone met her gaze. Mac's grey eyes were unreadable, his demeanour gruff and professional.

"Mac, please," Lindsay begged. "What's going on? Why won't anyone look at me? What... what were you guys looking at?" she asked, pointing to his computer screen.

Mac moved around his desk and sat down on the edge of the coffee table. "I think we'd better wait for Danny. Have a seat, Lindsay," he said, gesturing to the leather couch.

"I don't want to wait," Lindsay said shaking her head. "I want to know what is going on _right now_."

Mac sighed and looked down at his hands which were currently interlaced on his lap. He closed his eyes for a moment. Without lifting his head he began to speak.

"When you and Danny first got together, do you remember the conversation that we had?" he asked.

Lindsay nodded her head warily. "Yes, I do. You told us that as long as we kept our relationship out of the lab, that you had no problem with us being together."

Mac nodded his head, then looked up at her. "What were you guys thinking?" he asked, his voice laced with disappointment.

"What were we thinking about what?" she asked, confused.

"Lindsay, please don't insult me by playing dumb."

Lindsay raised her eyebrows, her chest thudding wildly in her chest, the palms of her hands cold and clammy. "Mac I don't... I'm not... I..." she cleared her throat, allowing herself time to find the words she so desperately needed to get out. "I don't know what you mean. We didn't do anything. I mean, okay, we kissed in the locker room the other day, but nobody was there, Mac. We didn't think we were bothering anyone."

Mac gave Lindsay a half-hearted smile while shaking his head at her. "That's not what I meant, Lindsay," he said gently. He looked at her for a moment, and she could tell that he was evaluating her, deciding if she was being totally honest with him. "You're absolutely sure that you don't know what I'm talking about?" he asked.

Lindsay stared back at her boss, her brow furrowed as she wracked her brains, trying to figure out what could possibly be causing this reaction. Finally, she shook her head. "I have no idea, Mac. Truly I don't. Please. Please tell me."

Mac sighed. He placed his hands on his knees, pushing himself up from the coffee table and indicating for Lindsay to follow him around to his desk. He pulled out his chair for her and she sat down, a feeling of dread welling up inside of her. She felt Mac lean over her shoulder as he opened his email.

"I received this about an hour ago," he said. "So did everyone else in the office. We all opened it, thinking it was some kind of joke email or something. As you will soon see, there is absolutely nothing funny about this."

He moved the mouse over a file that was attached to the email and a window popped up. It was a grainy black and white film. Lindsay felt the butterflies that had previously been swarming in her stomach begin to make their way into her chest as she realized that she recognized the setting of the video. It was her living room. It started out focused in on her bag, which was lying on the floor beside the couch. Then the angle shifted and it was clear that someone was walking with the camera in their hand.

Lindsay let out a gasp as the camera panned in on Danny, lying in their bed. He was lying, in his underwear, with his head on her pillow. He extended his hand out to take something from whoever was holding the camera. She leaned forward, trying to make out what it was he had taken. The angle was now directed down to the lower half of the bed, and she could faintly make out garbled words... she leaned closer to hear what was being said.

_I think it's pretty clear what he wants, babe. He wants you_

_Well he can't have me. I'm taken._

_Mine._

_All yours, Danny._

Lindsay's eyes were wide with horror, her mouth gaping open as she realized that this video was taken last night in their bedroom. She remembered the words from their conversation, words that had quickly led to...

_Oh, God, baby. Fuck me, Danny. Show me that I'm yours. No one can fuck me like you can._

"Turn it off." He barely heard her, her voice was so low. "Please, turn it off now, Mac!" Louder this time, he heard the tremble in her voice as her emotions began to surface.

Mac quickly acquiesced, leaning down once again to click on the controls to stop the video. He leaned back and looked down at the woman in front of him. She was sitting at his desk, her eyes closed tightly, her hands clenched in fists. He could see the muscles in her jaw working, trying to keep herself under control. He felt his heart ache for her, for them. It was obvious now that Lindsay at least had had nothing to do with this. Her reaction was not one that could easily be faked. And if he was honest, Mac had never really thought that Lindsay could have done anything like this. She and Danny were very private people, and this was a gross invasion of their private life.

"Oh, my God," Lindsay said softly. "Oh, my God. How... how long does it go on for?" she asked.

Mac sighed, then leaned forward to place the curser over the video control. "It looks like the video ends after about half an hour."

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God," she continued to chant to herself while she slowly began rocking herself back and forth in his chair.

"Lindsay?" he said, placing a hand on her shoulder, hoping to offer her some comfort.

"I think I'm going to be sick," Lindsay said. She immediately jumped up out of the chair. Within seconds she had crossed the office and pulled open the door, dashing down the hall toward the locker room.

Mac rubbed his tired eyes, letting out a deep breath as he did so. He reached into his pocket, taking out his cell phone and dialling a familiar number.

"Messer."

"Danny, where are you?" Mac asked.

"Hey boss, I'm just downstairs. Heading up in the elevator as we speak. Everything alright?"

"Danny, when you get up here I want you to come straight into my office. There's something I need you to see."

**

* * *

**

Okay. So, please please please don't hurt me. Please? *hides under the bed*

I'm sorry. I know it's awful to do something like this to them. It really really is. I hate seeing them like this. But I am going somewhere with this. I warned you at the beginning that there was going to be a lot of angst in this one. Please see this through, okay? Okay?


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: So, is it okay to come out now? *Peers out from my hiding spot***

**After reading your reviews, I was pleased to see that there were no calls for my head on a platter, which makes me happy (I think I would have a hard time writing without a head...). I'm glad that you all seemed genuinely shocked by the events of the story so far, so I guess that means I'm doing my job, right?**

**So, yeah. The last chapter was kind of intense, and I hope it didn't scare anybody away. Just so that you're informed, this chapter picks up right where the last one ended which means we are going to see how Danny finds out and reacts to the news. So, here we go, Chapter 4.**

* * *

Danny clicked his phone closed after talking to Mac, stepping into the waiting elevator, his messenger bag slung over one shoulder and a ziploc back containing the bear and the card in his hand. He considered the words Mac had spoken. There was something that he wanted Danny to see.

As the elevator journeyed upward, Danny considered what it could possibly be that Mac needed to see him about. He wondered if he'd made a mistake on his casework. He thought hard about recent cases he'd worked on. He was always so careful in his work, but there was always the chance that something could be called into question when it came to processing evidence. He hoped that he had misread the seriousness in Mac's tone, and that he was worrying for nothing.

The elevator doors slid open on the 35th floor and Danny stepped out. The usually bustling hallway was virtually deserted, which was unusual during the day when there were cases to be worked on. Worry began to rise in the back of Danny's mind as he nervously glanced around him, looking through the glass-walled labs and seeing people averting their gaze as he walked by. Frowning, he continued down the hall until he came to Mac's office door. He raised his hand and knocked. Mac looked up from his desk and waved Danny into the office.

Danny pushed open the door and walked into the room, his fears growing when he saw the look on Mac's face. "Hey, Mac," he said, trying to keep his voice calm, keep it from betraying his nervousness. "What's up? You wanted to see me?"

Mac simply nodded his head and indicated for Danny to sit on the leather couch across from his desk. Danny slid the strap of his bag from his shoulder, letting it fall to the floor before he sat himself down, still gripping the ziploc bag in his hands. Mac walked around his desk and came to sit down beside Danny on the couch.

"Danny, I received something this morning, something that concerns you and Lindsay," he said. Danny's heart started to thud loudly in his chest at the mention of his wife. He moved as if he was going to stand, as he suddenly had an almost overwhelming urge to hold her in his arms, to make sure that she was alright. Mac noted the movement and he placed a steadying hand on Danny's shoulder, keeping him seated. "You can go to her in a minute, Danny. But this is important. I've already talked to Lindsay about this, and she's pretty upset, and rightfully so."

Danny's mind was in a whirl. What could Mac possibly be talking about? His mind drifted back to the locker room a few days ago, after Lindsay had received her first gift. He felt a blush rising on his cheeks. Obviously, they hadn't been as discreet as they had thought and someone had lodged a complaint about their inappropriate behaviour at work.

"Look, Mac, I'm sorry, okay," Danny said hurriedly, his body now itching to be close to Lindsay, to offer her some comfort. "It... it was a bad decision on our part. But it wasn't like we were... you know. It was just a kiss in the locker room. But we promise that it won't happen again."

Mac looked at the young man sitting beside him. He couldn't help but let a small smile creep up the corners of his mouth. Danny and Lindsay really were made for one another. They had both made the exact same assumption upon being called into his office, like two teenagers caught making out behind the school bleachers.

"That's not why I called you here, Danny," said Mac gently, "Although that is something that you and Lindsay will have to continue to work on keeping out of the office. I know that with this job you may not get to spend as much... private time... together as you would like. But you have both always been professional and have never let your personal relationship become a liability to your work. So as far as I'm concerned, if I don't see it and I don't hear about it, then it's not a problem for me."

Danny let out a sigh of relief at Mac's words. But it was short-lived as he realized that if _that _wasn't what Mac had wanted to talk to him about, then something more serious must have happened.

"Okay, so what did you want to see me about then, Mac?" he asked.

"This morning I received an email. It had a link to an online video," Mac gave Danny a cautious sidelong glance. "Do you have any idea what video I'm talking about, Danny?"

He could tell by Danny's mystified expression that he was in the dark about the whole situation, which both relieved and worried Mac. He was comforted to find that neither of his most trusted employees was responsible for the video, but also uneasy about the fact that it meant that there was some unknown third party who was to blame.

Seeing that Danny was quickly becoming impatient, Mac stood up and walked over to his desk, pulling out his chair and indicating for Danny to sit down. Confusion evident on his face, Danny got up and made his way over to where Mac stood, giving him a searching look before sitting down in the chair and turning his attention to the monitor in front of him.

Once Danny was settled, Mac clicked on the link embedded in the email. Quickly the video window popped up and the now-familiar opening scene began again. He heard Danny's sharp intake of breath when he recognized himself, lying half-naked in his marital bed. He saw Danny's entire body tense as he listened to the voices coming out from the computer's speakers. Mac watched as Danny sat in horrified silence, staring at the screen in front of him, his eyes wide and his face flushed a deep red.

_Oh, God, baby. Fuck me, Danny. Show me that I'm yours. No one can fuck me like you can._

"Oh my God," Danny said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Oh, my God. No. No. No. Fuck, no." He turned to look at Mac, looking for an explanation. An explanation that Mac did not have. He turned his attention back to the video. "How... who..." was all he managed to get out before his voice failed him and he continued to stare blankly at the images moving in front of him. Out of respect, Mac averted his gaze, pulling over another chair and sitting down beside Danny.

"At first I thought that either you or Lindsay had made the video, then accidentally uploaded it..."

Danny scoffed at Mac's suggestion. He turned to Mac, a mix of barely controlled anger and fear in his eyes. "How the fuck to you accidentally upload something, Mac?" he snapped, shaking his head. He lowered his face to his hands and took a ragged breath. "We didn't do this, Mac," he mumbled into his hands. "We never... oh, God. Can we please turn this off?" Danny raised his head and slammed his hand down on the mouse, causing the video to pause in mid-stream. He sank back into Mac's chair, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose with his fingers.

"Danny, there's something else that I need to tell you. And I'm afraid you're not going to like it very much."

"Oh, as opposed to how much I love this," Danny spat, gesturing towards the monitor. "Fuck, what now?"

"I'm not the only person who received this video, Danny," Mac said.

"What!" Danny exclaimed, sitting up and staring back at Mac, all the colour draining from his face. "Who else has seen this?"

Mac gave Danny's shoulder a squeeze, taking a deep breath as he did so. "Everyone at the lab was sent a copy, Danny," he said.

"Oh shit, no! No, no, no, no, no!" Danny said, burying his face in his hands once again. "Jesus Christ!" he shouted, startling Mac as he suddenly stood up, shoving himself away from the desk and stalking across the room, pacing as he clenched and unclenched his hands into fists. "Shit. Fuck, no."

Mac watched as Danny became increasingly more distraught, his hands clenched painfully tight, his expression murderous. Mac felt a cold anger rise up inside of him at the thought of someone violating the young couple's most intimate and private moments like this. He had felt from the start that this was not something that either Danny or Lindsay would have done on purpose, and both of their reactions confirmed that they were unaware that they had been under surveillance at the time. But he had needed to be sure.

Danny's mind was in turmoil. He couldn't organize his thoughts, he couldn't concentrate on anything except his anger. And all he could see, over and over again in his mind were the grainy black and white images of himself and his wife, both blissfully unaware that they were being watched, being violated. He felt hot, angry tears start to form behind his eyes and he closed them in an attempt to keep the tears at bay.

Last night had been so beautiful. So amazing. Their conversation about Lindsay's mysterious gift had caused them to open up to one another, both emotionally and physically. They had let all of their inhibitions fall aside last night as they let their need and desire to be close, to be joined to one another, take over. And someone had taken that expression of their love and twisted it so that it was a joke. Something for people to snicker about in the locker room or around the water cooler.

And he couldn't bear that. He couldn't stomach the thought of people thinking that his love for Lindsay, or her love for him, was a joke.

Danny felt his legs start to feel wobbly beneath him at the thought of how Lindsay must have taken the news. He needed to sit down. He managed to stumble over to the wall and press his back up against it, sliding slowly down until he hit the floor. He rested his head back against the cold hard surface of the wall, his eyes still closed, the grainy images still reeling in front of him in his mind's eye. He banged his head back against the wall, trying to get them out of his head.

"Danny, stop that," he heard Mac's voice right beside him and he cracked open his eyes to see his boss sitting on the floor beside him looking very concerned. "I can't even begin to imagine what you are going through right now," Mac spoke softly, his tone sympathetic, "But you two can get through this."

"What did we do to deserve this, Mac?" Danny asked, his voice shaking. "Who would do this to us?"

"That's what we have to figure out, Danny," said Mac. "Have you noticed anything strange recently? Anyone paying more attention to either you or Lindsay than usual? Any unusual packages delivered to you? Anything out of the ordinary?"

Danny shook his head. "No, Mac. We..." he stopped in mid sentence, his eyes flying open as he sat up straight. "Shit. Oh, fuck. The... the bear. It was... it was the bear!"

Mac was bewildered. What did Danny mean? What bear?

"Danny? What are you talking about?" Mac asked to Danny who had jumped up and was making his way quickly over to Mac's desk where he had left the ziploc bag he had carried in with him. Standing up to join Danny at the desk, Mac looked over the younger man's shoulder and saw him staring down at a small pink bear holding a large red heart in its paws.

Danny brought the bag containing the bear up to his eyelevel, turning it over in his hands to get a better look at it. And then he saw it. _Fuck_. A tiny camera, cleverly concealed in the socket where the bear's eye should have been. Holding the bear back at arm's length, Danny re-examined the item, noting that unless you were looking for it, at this distance the small lens looked exactly like the bear's other eye.

"What is that?" Danny jumped at Mac's words. So focused on his examination was he, that he hadn't realized his boss had come up behind him. "Sorry, Danny. I didn't mean to startle you," Mac said, reaching around and taking the plastic bag from Danny. "What is this?"

"A few days ago Linds got a card and a flower on her desk in our office," Danny explained. "Thought it was from me because it was signed _All my love, D_."

"But it wasn't from you," Mac stated, realizing where Danny's story was going.

"No, it wasn't," Danny said shaking his head. Then he shrugged his shoulders. "We didn't really think anything of it. It was addressed to Lindsay Monroe, so we figured it's from some guy from way back who doesn't know she's married. We kind of forgot about it until yesterday when she received these," he said, pointing to the articles contained in the bag. "The bear and the card were inside her desk drawer."

"Danny, why didn't either of you mention this before?"

"Like I said, we kind of brushed off the first one, figured it was no big deal," he explained. "And Linds didn't tell me about this one until last night. She was tossing and turning and I asked her what was wrong, and she told me. Then she went out and brought them into the bedroom to show me..." Danny swallowed hard, squeezing his eyes shut as he continued. "And from what I saw, that's pretty much where the video you got starts..."

Mac looked at the young man standing in front of him. He was barely holding it together. His face was pale, his eyes red rimmed and his lashes wet with tears of anger and frustration that had so far remained unshed, and he was starting to tremble under the immense weight of the events of the morning. Mac reached out and gently clapped Danny on the back.

"Go find your wife, Danny," he said. "Make sure she's okay. Last I saw her, she was heading for the locker room. I'll take care of this, get someone started on processing these things, see if we can't find some trace to help narrow down a suspect list, okay?"

Danny took a shaky breath before giving Mac a meaningful look. "Can you... maybe... I don't want..."

"I will make sure that this evidence is handled by as few people as possible, Danny. People that you and I trust implicitly. I don't want either you or Lindsay to feel any more uncomfortable than you already do," Mac said reassuringly. "And just so you know, everyone in the lab was ordered to delete that email immediately, and anyone caught either watching it or forwarding it on from their work email account will be reprimanded severely. And I want you and Lindsay to come to me if anyone gives you a hard time, because I will not tolerate it."

Danny nodded at Mac's assurances. "Thanks Mac," he said before turning and walking over to the couch where he had dropped his messenger bag upon entering the room. He slung it over his shoulder and marched purposefully off to the locker room without giving Mac a backward glance.

* * *

"Linds? Come on, honey. Open the door please."

Lindsay looked up at the bathroom door. After seeing the images that Mac and all her coworkers had received that morning, she had rushed into the locker room, pushing open the women's bathroom door and locking it behind her before emptying the contents of her stomach violently into the toilet. She had been sitting on the cold, hard tile floor, her back against the wall and her knees pulled up to her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks since then, willing the world around her to just disappear. Willing herself to wake up and find that it was all just a bad dream.

And now her husband was standing out there, and she could hear the emotion in his voice. He knew. Mac had told him. Or shown him, as was more likely the case. At the thought of the video, her stomach clenched once again and she quickly leaned over the toilet and heaved until she collapsed, exhausted and emotionally spent, on the floor.

She couldn't look at him. She just couldn't. It was her fault. She had brought the damn thing into their bedroom. If she had just told him about all of this earlier, they could have avoided this whole humiliating experience. She curled up in the fetal position and closed her eyes, trying to ignore Danny's increasingly desperate pleas for her to let him in.

"Go away, Danny," she finally managed to croak out. "Please, just leave me alone."

Danny heaved a sigh of relief at finally getting some response from the other side of the door. Although the sound of her voice made his heart ache. Her voice sounded hollow and empty, emotionless. Not like his wife. Not like his Lindsay. Her voice was full of love and liveliness. He leaned against the door, resting his hand on the doorknob, giving it a soft twist, hoping against hope that it would spring open in his hand.

"Lindsay, please," he pleaded. "Are you okay? Montana? Please, let me in."

"I said go away," was the muffled response he got.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the cool surface of the door. He had a splitting headache, and his stomach was tied up in knots. All he wanted was for her to open the door so that he could hold her in his arms. He knew that if he could just do that, that they would both feel better, that everything would be okay. But she was refusing. She was shutting him out, literally and figuratively, and it felt like a knife being twisted into his heart. He would not let her do this to him again. They had promised each other, back when they had found out that they were going to have Lucy, that they would always be open with one another. That there would be no secrets, and that when there was a problem, they would talk about it.

"Lindsay Messer, I am giving you to the count of five to let me in, and then I am going to break this fucking door down," Danny said, hoping that she wouldn't let it come to that. "Lindsay? Did you hear me?"

He pressed his ear to the door, hoping to hear some movement from the other side. But there was nothing. Silently he began counting in his head, all the while still listening for signs of movement. When he reached the count of five, Danny released a heavy sigh and then pulled away from the door. He steeled himself, gathering all his strength. Taking a step back, he took a deep breath and then kicked out against the door, hearing a sharp and satisfying crack as the sole of his foot hit the hard surface.

Lindsay curled up into herself at hearing Danny's threat of breaking open the door. He wouldn't do it, she told herself. He would get to five and then he would walk away and leave her alone. She silently counted to five in her head and then waited for the sound of his retreating footsteps. A fresh wave of tears cascaded down her face as she heard him sigh and take a few steps away. She suddenly wanted him. She wanted his arms around her, holding her close. She wanted him to tell her that everything was going to be okay. That they were going to be okay. She moved from the floor, intending to get up and follow after him when the sound of something crashing into the door startled her and caused her to stumble back into the counter, her fingers gripping the edges for support.

After several more hearty kicks from the outside, she heard Danny utter a few choice curse words at the sturdiness of the door. Taking a few cautious steps forward, Lindsay called out to him. "Danny? I'm coming, I'm opening the door."

"Oh, thank God!" she heard Danny exclaim and she couldn't stop herself from smiling. Flicking the lock open, Lindsay reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist and a pull, opening the door and letting in swing in toward her, revealing her husband leaned up against the doorjamb. "Fuck, that's gotta be like a fucking bullet-proof door or something," he panted, bending forward and resting his hands on his knees.

"No, it's just Danny-proof," Lindsay couldn't help but tease him. She watched him take a few more deep breaths before he straightened up and looked at her. As soon as his eyes met hers, she couldn't hold herself back any longer and she rushed forward and flung herself into his arms, wrapping herself around him and burrowing her face into his strong chest.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he murmured to her while stroking her back with one hand, the other arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders. "Shhh, shhh. You're okay now. I've got you."

"I'm so sorry, Danny!" Lindsay sobbed into his chest, her fingers clutching the fabric of his shirt.

"Hey, hey. What now?" he asked as he leaned back, trailing his hands up her back and over her shoulders so that he could cup her face in his hands. "What do you have to be sorry for?'

She gaped at him for a moment before her face crumpled and she tried to look away, only to have Danny's strong hands keep her gaze focused on him. "Hey, Linds," he said as he wiped at her tears with his fingertips, "Talk to me. Why are you sorry?"

Sniffling, Lindsay explained her guilty feelings to him, watching him closely all the while. She felt a wave of relief wash over her as he carefully considered what she had said before leaning in and kissing her softly on the lips.

"This isn't your fault. None of it is," he said as he continued to brush his lips softly against hers.

"Thank you, Danny," she whispered to him.

"Love you, Linds," he said as he kissed her cheek.

"Love you back," she replied as Danny took her hand and led her over to the bench in front of a bank of lockers. Sitting down, he pulled Lindsay down beside him and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, holding her snugly to his side. Her hand reached out and rested on his thigh, her fingers feeling the warmth of his body even through the thick fabric.

"You okay, honey?" Danny asked, resting his cheek on the top of her head.

"No," Lindsay replied honestly. "But I'm better now that you're here."

She felt Danny smile into her hair. "Me too," he whispered. "Mac's got the bear and the card now, he's getting someone to process them, so hopefully we'll have some information soon on what's going on and who's behind this."

"I... I can't go back out there, Dan," Lindsay whispered, leaning in and resting her head on his shoulder. "I can't face them all, knowing that they've seen us..."

"I know, honey. I know," Danny interjected so that she didn't have to finish her sentence. "But we can't hide in here forever, babe."

"I just need a little while longer, Danny," she said. "Please, Dan? Don't make me go out there yet."

"Take all the time you need, sweetheart," Danny said, holding her closer. "I'm not going anywhere without you."

* * *

They sat together on the bench for several long minutes, neither saying a word, just simply taking comfort in one another's presence. Finally, Lindsay released a sigh and Danny felt her shift against his body.

"I'm ready, Danny," she said, giving his thigh a loving squeeze before she stood up.

"You sure, Linds?" Danny asked.

"No," she admitted, giving him a small smile. "But it's better to just do it. I mean, the worst is over right? People know. And the sooner we just get over it and get on with our day, then the sooner it will stop being a big deal. People will find someone else to talk about."

"Aw, Linds. You always see the good in people."

"You're an ass," she said, reaching up to cup his cheek.

"Yeah, but I'm your..."

"I will divorce you if you finish that sentence, Messer," Lindsay said, giving her husband a tap on the cheek before turning to her locker and keying in the familiar combination.

"You couldn't live without me," Danny said as he leaned back against his locker door. He gave his wife a cheeky grin and she rolled her eyes at him as she pulled open her locker door. As she did so, a small slip of paper fell to the floor, having been slipped into the slit between her locker door and the frame.

"Whoa, Linds," Danny said, bending down to pick it up, "Butterfingers."

"That's not mine, Dan," Lindsay said, inspecting her reflection in the small mirror attached to the inside of her locker door. When she was relatively happy with her appearance she closed the door to reveal her husband who had gone unnaturally pale. He lifted his eyes from the scrap of paper held in his shaking hands, his eyes filled with dread.

"What? Danny what is it?"

Unable to find words, Danny silently handed the slip of paper over to her, then he slumped down the front of his locker until he was seated on the floor, his head in his hands.

With trembling hands, Lindsay looked down at the paper.

__

Lindsay,

I'm disappointed. Is this the thanks that I get?  
After all we have been through together, I find out now that you are nothing more than a lying, cheating bitch.  
And now everyone knows the kind of filth you engage in with your man whore.  
How dare he stake a claim to you?  
But he won't be around to protect you forever.  
And then, my love, you will be mine, all mine.

D

**

* * *

**

Dun dun dun!

I was going to end this chapter differently, on a happier note. But then I thought... nah. Mwa ha ha!

*ahem* Sorry. I'll behave now. So, thoughts? I hope that I captured Danny's reaction. In my head it seemed angstier (is that a word? ah well. It is now!) than it did on the page, but maybe I'm just being overly critical of myself (who me? Never! LOL).

Please let me know your thoughts! I'd love to hear how you felt about this chapter! And have no fear... chapter 5 will soon be here!


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Thank you all for your support for this story. I really appreciate the positive feedback that I've received, and it has spurred me on to finish this next chapter and get it updated as soon as possible! So now you know, reviews = faster updates! LOL.**

**The muse was inspired to get the rest of the team's reactions to what is happening to DL. And, although I don't usually like to touch on the casework involved in my stories (because I'm not an expert, please forgive any mistakes, as they are all based on my own assumptions), I felt that in this case, some explanations and hypothesising was required.**

**I hope you enjoy this chapter, and I'm excited to see your reactions! **

* * *

Flack was riding in the elevator, pacing back and forth. He had received an urgent text message from Mac telling him to drop whatever he was doing and make his way to the lab immediately. As soon as he got the message, Flack was on full alert. He knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good. Mac wouldn't ask him to drop everything if it wasn't extremely important.

When the elevator doors opened, Flack stepped out into the hallway. Seeing that Mac's office was empty, he walked up to Carolyn at the reception desk to inquire about Mac's whereabouts. "Hey, Carolyn," he said, "You seen Mac?"

She looked up at him and smiled. "Hey, Detective Flack," she said, batting her eyelashes at him, "Detective Taylor is very busy this morning. Is there anything that I can help you with?" she asked flirtatiously. Any other time, he would have jumped at the chance to flirt with the pretty brunette, but now was not the time. "Carolyn, it's really important. Where is he?" he demanded.

The receptionist looked slightly crestfallen, but she nodded her head down the hallway, "He's in the conference room," she replied tersely.

"Thanks," he said, turning and walking quickly away, taking long strides until he reached the glass-walled room. He saw Mac along with Stella, Adam and Hawkes inside, talking seriously. He rapped his knuckles on the glass door before pushing it open and walking into the room. "You wanted to see me, Mac?"

"Don, I'm glad you're here," Mac said, nodding a greeting at the detective. "Come on in. Have a seat."

Flack walked into the room but declined the offered chair. "I'm fine standing, thanks," he said. "What's up?"

Mac and Stella gave each other meaningful looks before Stella spoke. "Did you hear anything out of the ordinary down at the precinct this morning, Don?" she asked. "Anything about Danny and Lindsay?"

At the mention of his friend and his wife, Flack went immediately into high alert mode. He and Danny had been best friends since their days together at the police academy, and Danny was the brother he'd never had. And Lindsay? She had become like a second sister to him. They were two of the most important people in his life, and any time there was a possibility that either of them was in trouble or, God forbid, danger, his protective side immediately went into overdrive.

"Danny and Linds?" he said, panic rising up inside him. "I haven't heard anything. Why?"

Stella sighed and Mac, Adam and Hawkes all shifted uncomfortably. Flack had the distinct feeling that something bad was going on. Whatever it was, he knew that he was not going to be happy.

"Guys, seriously," he said. "What's going on? What about Dan and Linds?"

Mac looked up at Flack, "Don, I really think you might want to sit down for this," he said.

Flack shook his head, his anger and impatience starting to get the better of him. "I said I'm fine," he snapped. "Now will someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?"

Mac sat down himself, scrubbing his face with his hands. "A few days ago, Lindsay received an anonymous gift, which she initially thought was from Danny," Mac explained. "But Danny claims that he never sent it."

Flack's mind flashed back to the scene in the locker room the other day. He'd walked in just in time to hear a snippet of their conversation.

_Linds, I didn't leave you those things... Baby, I'm sorry, but I never made it to the lab this morning. Flack picked me up outside our apartment and we went straight to the scene._

Unbelieving, Lindsay had asked Don to confirm what Danny was telling her, which he had done without hesitation.

_Yeah, that's right. I picked Dan up about a block from your place when Mac called and said he needed us at a scene ASAP. Sorry, Linds._

He had wondered what that had been about, but hadn't felt it was his place to ask. He'd simply told Danny that he would pick up the jacket he'd borrowed later and left the couple to sort out their differences in private. He pulled his mind from his thoughts as he realized that Mac was talking again.

"Yesterday, Lindsay received this card along with a gift - this bear," Mac said, holding up two sealed evidence bags; one containing a card, the other a pink bear holding a red heart. "Unbeknownst to her, the bear contained a small camera. She took the bear into the bedroom last night to show Danny and it captured a fairly... intimate encounter between them."

Flack felt his blood begin to boil in his veins. If he was right, what Mac was about to tell him meant that his two friend's privacy had been grievously violated by whoever had sent Lindsay those gifts. Mac's words confirmed his worst fears.

"This morning, every employee of the crime lab received an email with an embedded link to a video feed," Mac said, holding Flack's gaze. "Danny and Lindsay confirmed that the images on the video were indeed captured last night. It's contents were fairly graphic, to say the least. Needless to say, the two of them are feeling extremely exposed, and I imagine a bit fragile right now."

"Fuck," Flack breathed. "Shit, that is low, Mac. Who would do this to them? We got any leads?"

Mac nodded. "We found some trace on both the card and the bear and we're waiting for the results right now. The camera that was used is very small and fairly unique - there aren't a lot of places that sell that specific make and model of camera, so Sheldon is going to try to track down where it was purchased, and by whom."

Flack nodded his head, "Good, good," he said. "And what about the video link? Can we find out where it came from?" he asked.

"I'm... um... I'm working on that right now," Adam piped up nervously. "It might take me a while... it's, um... the signal seems to have been bounced around a lot before it was actually uploaded, so, um, I'm having a little trouble tracking a specific IP address."

Flack gave a lopsided grin to the young lab technician. He knew that Adam had a soft spot for Danny, and that he looked up to him like a big brother. Flack realized that seeing someone that he idolized in such a compromising situation could make Adam even more jumpy and on edge than usual. "That's good, Adam," Flack said reassuringly. Adam smiled awkwardly back at Flack.

"Thanks," he whispered.

"We've been looking at the card Lindsay received," Stella picked up where Mac and Adam had left off. "Lindsay said that both cards were addressed to her maiden name, Lindsay _Monroe_, not Lindsay _Messer._ So we're going on the assumption that either this guy doesn't know that she's married, or he's refusing to acknowledge it..

"And what about the camera?" Flack pressed. "Do you think that it was intended for this purpose? To catch them... like that?"

Hawkes shook his head. "From what we understand, both cards seem to come from someone who feels that he is in a relationship with Lindsay," he said. "Based on that assumption, we can surmise that whoever sent the bear was only intending to watch Lindsay, get a better look into her private life. Possibly so that he could insert himself into her life more effectively in the future."

"Talk to any woman who's received a stuffed animal as a present from her boyfriend, and she'll tell you that it ends up in a place of importance, usually somewhere in her bedroom," Stella explained, seeing the confused look on Flack's face. "It's possible that all he was hoping to see were a few glimpses of Lindsay naked."

"And when he saw her with Danny," Flack said, realizing where their theory was going, "He flipped out, decided that she was 'cheating' on him and that she needed to be punished."

Mac and Stella nodded. "Exactly," Mac said. "We think that seeing her with Danny in such an intimate moment pushed him over the edge. And in his anger he lashed out at both of them, wanting to inflict as much pain and humiliation on them as possible, as soon as possible."

"Fuck," said Flack. "That shit is messed up."

"You got that right," Stella agreed.

"Okay, so what do you want me to do?" Flack asked.

"Well, both of the gifts were delivered to Lindsay's office. The first on her desk, the second in her desk drawer," Mac said. "Stella is just about to go and process the office, check for any prints that have no business being there, any trace of fibres that are out of the ordinary."

"Okay," said Flack. "And me?"

"This guy has access to her office, and as you know, access to this entire building is restricted to employees and registered visitors. I need you to start looking into every employee of this building, Don. See if there's anyone with a history of obsessive behaviour, mental illness, a criminal record, anything that stands out. Also, check the visitor's log. See if anyone with a past affiliation to either Lindsay or Danny has signed in during the past few days. Leave no stone unturned."

"You got it, Mac," Flack said, turning on his heel and making for the door. As he did so, he ran smack into Danny who jolted at the contact and stumbled backward, crashing into the wall behind him. "Whoa, shit, Danno. You okay, man?"

Flack looked at his friend. He did not look well. He was pale and haggard looking, his eyes wide and if Flack wasn't mistaken, he could swear that Danny was trembling slightly. Standing just behind him was Lindsay, who looked no better. It was clear from her red, puffy eyes that she had been crying, and she clung tightly to Danny's hand as if she was afraid that if she let go, she would lose him.

"Danny? Lindsay?" Mac said, standing up from the table and making his way over to the couple. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"

Pushing past Flack, Danny walked into the room, pulling Lindsay along with him. He pulled out a chair and sat her down before collapsing into the chair beside her. He lay his head down on the table and let out a deep sigh. Lindsay looked worriedly down at her husband, her hand resting protectively between his shoulder blades. She looked as if she was about to break into tears.

Stella rounded the table and sat down on the other side of Lindsay, resting her hand on her younger co-worker's arm. She smiled affectionately at her friend as she spoke. "Hey, kiddo," she said. "You okay? Did something happen?" she asked gently.

Lindsay looked down at Danny before meeting Stella's gaze. Silently she reached her hand into her pocket, withdrawing a folded slip of paper. She placed it on the table and slid it over to Stella. Sensing that this could be something related to their case, Stella reached over and took a pair of gloves out of the box on the table. Snapping them onto her hands, she carefully opened the paper, her eyes widening as she read the contents of the note.

"Mac," she said, "We've got a problem."

**

* * *

**

Okay, so I know that not a lot actually

_**happens **_**in this chapter, but I needed to get some basic information out of the way. Please, please hang in there with me... Things are about to get very intense in the next few chapters for our favourite couple!**

**I also felt that, hey, you know what? I'm five chapters into this story, and I have barely mentioned Flack. Plus, the muse was insistent that this chapter **_**had **_**to be told from his perspective... don't ask me why!**

**I hope it worked and that it was effective. Please let me know what you thought! Reviews and comments are always welcome :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: I know I just updated yesterday, but I had all these ideas spring into my mind this morning, and I had to get them down right away. What better way to spend a long-weekend Monday? LOL.**

**So, now that we have some background info on the case, we pick up with Danny and Lindsay who are both struggling to come to terms with what has happened to them...**

* * *

Mac sat at his desk, a miserable looking Danny and Lindsay sitting side by side on his couch, Lindsay's hand still clenched tightly around Danny's own. They had spent the last several minutes going over the past few days activities in detail, trying to narrow down the times that the unknown suspect had entered the building and left the gifts for Lindsay. When Mac was satisfied that he had a fairly accurate timeline, he insisted that Danny call his mother and let her know that they would be needed at the office until further notice, and to ensure that it was alright for Lucy to stay with her.

He had listened discreetly as Danny had given his mother a rough outline of the events of the morning. He couldn't imagine how the young couple must be feeling right now, and how it must feel for Danny to have to relate those details back to his mother. His heart went out to Danny and Lindsay, and he promised himself that he would do everything in his power to keep this incident from escalating any further than it already had.

When he heard Danny end the call to his mother, Mac looked up. He smiled sympathetically at the pair of them before speaking. "I just have a few more questions for you, if that's alright."

Lindsay leaned in and rested her head on Danny's shoulder, her body slumping in exhaustion, clearly not in the mood to dredge up any more details of their lives for examination by their coworkers and friends. Danny reached up and lovingly stroked her cheek before looking up at Mac. With a resigned sigh, he shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, sure Mac. Whatever you need."

Mac knew from personal experience how horrible it was to have people combing through your life. When he had been suspected of killing Clay Dobson, his life had been torn apart, every detail looked into by the prosecuting attorney, and his friends and colleagues had been called to testify on his behalf. But that was nothing compared to the humiliation that Danny and Lindsay had faced today. Mac cringed at the thought of anyone seeing himself in such an intimate situation with any of the women he'd had in his life; Claire, Peyton, or even Aubrey. And having the added burden of their friends burrow through the minutiae of their daily lives was not going to be pleasant for them.

"I'm sorry, guys," he said, "But it's just a few things that I need to clarify, and then we're done for now, okay?"

Lindsay sighed and Danny nodded his head, so Mac pressed on. "The first gift you received, Lindsay. It was a single rose and a card, is that right?"

He watched as Lindsay nodded her head slightly before raising a shaking hand to wipe away a stray tear from her eye. "And what happened to the rose and the card?" Mac asked softly. "Where are they now?"

Lindsay closed her eyes, turning her face to bury it into Danny's shoulder. Danny squeezed her hand reassuringly before turning his attention to Mac. "They were thrown out," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.

Mac sighed. He had feared as much. "Is there anything that you can tell me about them that might be helpful? Anything special about the rose? Was it a particular colour? What about the card? Do you remember anything distinctive about it?"

"It was a rose, Mac," Lindsay shouted, startling both Mac and her husband with the tone and volume of her voice. "Just a fucking red rose. That's it. And the card was just... just a plain greeting card." Lindsay hung her head and took a shaky breath.

"Oh, Linds," Danny said, untangling his hand from hers so he could wrap his arm around her shoulder. "Baby, it's okay," he whispered into her hair.

"I'm sorry, Lindsay," Mac said, getting up and walking around his desk and sitting down on the coffee table in front of them. "I know this is difficult, but you both know better than anyone how important even the smallest details can be."

Lindsay sniffed and looked up at Mac with tired, sad eyes. "I'm sorry, Mac," she said. "I know you're just trying to help. This is all just... it's so..." she shook her head, unable to continue, once again burying her face in Danny's shoulder.

"It said _Thinking of You _on the front, Mac," Danny said, his eyes focused on his distraught wife as he continued to rub her back. "And... there were a bunch of flowers and hearts all over the front if it."

"Okay, if you think of anything else, let me know, okay?" Mac said, standing up and heading back to his desk.

"I'm sorry Mac," Danny said, his words causing Mac to stop and turn around.

"What? Why are you sorry, Danny?" he asked, moving back toward the couch.

"I... Lindsay threw them out because of me," he said, hanging his head. "If I hadn't been so fucking jealous..."

"Danny, don't beat yourself up," Mac said, sitting down on the couch beside Danny. He squeezed the young man's shoulder, hoping that the gesture would offer him some assurance. "Nobody is blaming either of you for what happened."

"Yeah, but..."

"Enough, Danny," Mac said, standing up. "Now, I'm going to go and check on the progress we're making with our investigations. I don't want either of you leaving the lab, but just try to relax. You are more than welcome to stay here for now, at least until Stella is done processing your office."

"Can we do anything to help?" Lindsay asked, raising her head from Danny's shoulder and wiping her eyes.

"I think it's best if you both stay out of the investigation as much as possible..." Mac stopped, seeing the look on Lindsay's face, he knew that she was dying for a distraction, something to do to take her mind off of what was happening. "You know, it might be helpful if one of you went with Stella. You could help her determine if there is anything missing our out of place in your office."

"Thanks, Mac," Lindsay said, giving him a small smile. She turned and ran her fingers through Danny's hair, pressing a soft kiss to his lips before she stood and stretched. She walked over to Mac and kissed his cheek. "Thank you," she said again before turning and walking out of the room.

"Danny, are you going to be okay in here?" Mac asked as he gathered his phone and the case file from his desk.

"Yeah, no. I think I'm going to go take a shower. Cool off a bit," Danny said, heaving himself off the couch. "Thanks... for supporting us, Mac. And for believing us," Danny said, giving his boss an awkward smile. "I'm sorry that you have all been dragged into this. I can't imagine that it was very pleasant for you all to see us... like that," Danny finished, blushing a deep red and casting his eyes to the floor.

Mac took a few steps forward so that he was standing right in front of Danny. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with anything that you did, Danny," he said. "No one here is judging you. There's no shame in a husband and wife being intimate. We're not after you, Danny. Remember that. We're after whoever it was that took away your privacy. Whoever lifted the veil over your intimacy with Lindsay. You're the victims here. We just want to help."

Danny nodded his head, and Mac could tell that he was struggling to keep himself composed, his jaw clenching and unclenching with the effort.

"Go cool off. Sort out your thoughts, then come and find me, okay?" Mac said.

"Yeah, thanks," Danny said gruffly before turning and rushing from the office, making a beeline for the locker room.

Mac let out a heavy breath. After working with Danny for so many years, he knew the telltale signs that Danny was quickly reaching his breaking point. The stress of finding out about the video, paired with his concern for Lindsay's safety and wellbeing was more than enough. But after receiving the note that was a barely veiled threat on Danny's life, Mac knew that it wouldn't take much. Just one little push and Danny would snap.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled a familiar number.

* * *

Danny stood in the shower and let the hot water cascade down his body. As soon as he'd closed the curtain, his body had started to shake with wracking sobs, and he'd let the hiss of the running water help to drown out his cries.

Images were fighting for dominance in his mind - images of himself and Lindsay tangled together as they made love were quickly replaced by Lindsay's face in sheer panic as she read over the note found in her locker. He saw faceless people whispering behind his back. He banged his fist against the wall as another bout of choking sobs overtook him, and he had to lean against the shower wall for support. He didn't care about what people were saying about him. He could take it. Hell, he'd probably heard far worse over the years. But what he couldn't take was what people might say about Lindsay.

Hearing themselves on the tape had revealed how open they were with one another. The things that they said while making love, when revealed to the masses in the cold light of day, were mortifying. And he knew that people thought of his wife as sweet and friendly, and he had always been proud that only he had the privilege to see the other more sensual side of her. But now she was exposed for everyone to see, and it killed him to think that people might think less of her because of it.

Taking a deep, cleansing breath, Danny tried to push the thoughts from his mind. He reached for the soap and began to lather it over his body, trying to wash away the trials and tribulations of the day. After rinsing himself off, he turned off the water and reached outside the cubicle for his towel. Finding it on the hook beside the shower stall, Danny quickly dried himself off and wrapped the towel around his waist, pulling the curtain open with a snap. He gasped when he saw someone standing directly across from him.

"Fuck, man," he said, placing one hand on his chest and the other on the wall to steady himself. "You scared the shit out of me."

Flack pushed himself off the wall and gave Danny a cautious smile. "You okay, man?" he asked. "You didn't look so good earlier. And frankly, you still look like shit."

Despite his situation, Danny couldn't help but let laugh at his friend. "Thanks, Flack," he said. "You always know exactly what to say."

"I'm sorry, Danno," Flack said, his expression turning more solemn. "What happened to you and Linds... it... well, it fucking sucks, to be honest."

Danny nodded as he gathered his things from the shower and headed back to the locker. "I think that's the understatement of the year, Don," he said as he keyed in his locker combination.

Flack sat down on the bench opposite Danny's locker, waiting as his friend exchanged the shampoo and soap for his clothes. "You okay, Dan?" Flack asked, eyeing his friend carefully. "And I mean really okay. Not Ruben okay, or Louie okay."

He saw Danny's whole body tense at the mention of his brother and Ruben Sandoval. Flack braced himself for impact, expecting Danny to turn around and let him have it. He figured better him than some poor unsuspecting person out there who might accidentally set Danny off. Danny turned to look at Flack, his blue eyes flashing with anger.

"You know what? No," Danny said, shaking his head, his voice cold. "I'm not fucking okay, Don. I woke up this morning feeling fantastic because I'd just had the best sex of my life last night with my wife. Then I show up here, and every fucking person in this goddamn lab has seen us together... and heard us. And Linds is a fucking mess, she's so upset. And to top it all off, I get a nice little death threat from some whack job that has a hard-on for my wife. And now? The people that I work with, that I have to see every goddamn fucking day, are poking and prying into my private life. So no, Don. I'm not fucking oay."

Slamming his locker shut, Danny stomped off to the change room, leaving Flack standing alone, the metallic sound of Danny closing his locker still ringing in his ears. He leaned back and rested his head against the wall behind him. Mac had called him about twenty minutes ago, telling him that Danny was not handling things well, and that he was one small step away from snapping. Flack hadn't needed Mac to say anything more. He had quickly made his way to the lab, checking in with Mac, who told him that Danny had gone off to have a shower.

Flack had pushed open the locker room door and the first sound he heard was running water. As he rounded the corner into the shower room, he'd heard something else, another sound that barely carried over the water. But it was a sound he'd been dreading to hear. The sound of his best friend sobbing in the shower. His throat had constricted at the heartbreaking sounds he heard, and he had leaned up against the wall and waited. And waited.

Finally, after 15 minutes, the water had stopped and Danny had emerged from the shower looking only slightly better than he had when Flack had last seen him. There was anger and sadness etched into his face, and Flack knew that those emotions had to come out before Danny would be any use to the investigation, or to Lindsay.

The sound of the change room door opening brought Flack back to the present. He pushed himself up off the bench, watching as Danny approached his locker, a foul-tempered scowl on his face. "You still here?" he snapped.

"Dan, I'm only looking out for you," Flack said. "I'm worried about you, you and Lindsay. You guys are like family to me, and we want to catch this guy for you. But Danno, you gotta pull yourself together man." Flack held up his hand as it was clear that Danny was about to speak. "Just hear me out, okay. I know you gotta lot of anger in you right now, and you're probably scared. Fuck, if it was me, I probably would have shit my pants by now. But you gotta get those feelings out of your system, and soon. So, I'm gonna take you down to the gym and let you loose on the punching bags for a while, alright? We can spar a little, get your mind off things, help you clear your head."

Danny stood staring at his friend. Flack was looking at him with that same stubborn look he'd had back in that alleyway with Rikki all those years ago. The look that said Y_ou know I'm right. And eventually you're going to do what I want anyway so just pull your head out of your ass, Messer, and do what I say_.

Danny sighed. He gave his friend a sidelong glare before turning to his locker and pulling it open, shoving his towel back inside and pulling out his shoes and socks. "You're such an asshole," he muttered as he sat on the bench beside his friend and pulled on his socks.

"Yeah, but I'm an asshole who's always right," Flack said, grinning at Danny.

"Fuck you," Danny said, unable to keep a smirk from spreading over his face. He got up and was just walking to his locker to put the last of his stuff away when the locker room door opened and the voices of two males carried through the room toward them.

"Fuck, did you see the tits on her? Messer is a lucky man."

"No shit, and that mouth. I mean, holy shit, I wish my wife would talk dirty to me like that. God, I'd give anything to tap that."

Flack's head snapped up as the words registered in his brain. _Fuck_. Danny was gone before Flack even knew what was happening. He could hear the sounds of a scuffle coming from the other side of the room, and Danny's voice rang out loud and clear.

"You got something to say about my wife, you fucking prick?" Don winced as he heard the unmistakable sound of fist meeting bone. "Fucking say it again, you cocksucker."

"Danny, stop!" Flack shouted as he rounded the corner to see one white-coated lab tech cowering in the corner with a bloody nose. The other was pressed up against a bank of lockers, Danny's forearm pressed up against his throat.

"What about you? You got something to say? Huh?" Danny pressed, leaning harder on the man, who's face was contorted in terror. The man shook his head.

"No," he managed go croak out.

"I didn't think so," Danny said as Flack grabbed Danny's shoulders, pulling him away from the man who promptly slumped to the floor, gasping for air.

"Alright, Dan," Flack said, trying to calm down his friend who was still straining against him, fighting to get free. "It's alright, come on. Let's get you out of here."

With one hand clenched the collar of Danny's jacket and the other grasping his upper arm tightly, Flack dragged Danny out of the locker room to Mac's office.

**

* * *

**

So, I'll be delivering this note from under my bed where you can't find me. *hides*

**Yay? Nay? Let me know! I did warn you that things were going to get uncomfortable... Oh God, please don't hurt me!**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Is it safe? *Crawls out from under the bed* **

**Okay, so seemingly people like seeing an angry and protective Danny. Well, that bodes well for this chapter ;)**

**I was completely overwhelmed by the reviews I received for Chapter 6 ... literally, I was floored, and I can't thank you enough! Wow. Just wow.**

**So, please sit back and enjoy Chapter 7... Lindsay gets a little support from Stella, while Danny has to face the consequences of what happened in the locker room. **

* * *

When Lindsay walked into the office that she shared with her husband, she found Stella bent over her desk, all of her possessions spread out on the floor, and covering it all was a light dusting of blue fingerprint powder. As she took in the scene in front of her, reality suddenly hit her, and it hit her hard. Her office - hers and Danny's - was a crime scene. She stood on the threshold, unable to step into the office, but unwilling to walk away.

Stella must have sensed her presence, because she turned to face the door, a sympathetic smile spreading across her face as she noticed Lindsay standing in the doorway.

"Hey, kiddo," Stella said, lowering the dusting brush she held in her hand and placing it carefully beside the jar of powder. "Are you okay, Lindsay?"

Lindsay stood there for a moment, her eyes moving from object to object, a hard lump forming in her throat. Realizing that Stella was staring at her, expecting an answer, she cleared her throat.

"Um, I'm okay, I guess," she mumbled feebly.

Stella stood up and walked toward her, peeling off her gloves as she did so. She dropped the gloves into the nearby trash can before taking hold of Lindsay's arms and pulling her into a tight hug.

"I'm so sorry, Lindsay," Stella whispered in her friend's ear. "I'm so sorry."

Unable to hold it together any longer, Lindsay leaned into Stella's embrace, burying her face in Stella's curly hair and began to sob. She felt Stella pull her closer, wrapping her arms around her and rubbing her back.

"Shh. Shh. It's okay, Lindsay," Stella said gently. "You're okay. You're fine. Just let it out, Lindsay. Just let it out."

"Oh, God, Stella," Lindsay sobbed. "I... I just want it to stop. I just wanted to come to work this morning and do my job, and then go home with Danny. I just..." Another wave of sobs overtook her and she gripped onto her friend, letting her emotions flow out of her.

"Oh, honey, I know. I know," Stella soothed. "Come on, come in and sit down, okay? Do you want something to drink?"

Stella gently pulled Lindsay into the room, leading her over to her chair and making sure she was settled before she crouched down in front of her, her hands resting comfortingly on Lindsay's knees.

"No. I'm... I'm fine," Lindsay hiccupped, her sobs fading away into sniffles. She gave her friend a sheepish smile before wiping her nose with a tissue from her pocket. "God, I'm a mess today, aren't I?"

Stella smiled up at Lindsay, giving her knees a reassuring squeeze before she stood up and moved to sit in Danny's chair.

"Well, if ever anyone had a good excuse, Lindsay, it's you," she said.

Lindsay blew her nose then looked up at Stella. "I just, I don't know what happened. I... what did I do to deserve this? And Danny? What did he do? Nothing. He did nothing, and now..." Lindsay paused, tears welling up in her eyes once more, "I could lose him, Stell."

Stella wheeled herself closer to Lindsay then grabbed the arms of Lindsay's chair, forcing her to turn and look at her.

"Hey! Lindsay, stop that," Stella said sharply. "You can't think like that. You're not going to lose him. We won't let that happen. All of us - me, Mac, Adam, Hawkes and Flack - we won't let that happen. Okay? Lindsay?"

Lindsay gave Stella a half-hearted smile. "Okay, Stella," she said quietly.

"Good," Stella said, nodding her head. Standing up, she pulled a fresh pair of gloves from her pocket, snapping them onto her hands before she placed her hands on her hips, her eyes roaming over the room, a determined look on her face. "Now, let's see if we can't nail this asshole's balls to the floor."

* * *

They had been working for about half an hour, Stella dusting for prints and Lindsay looking through the assorted paraphernalia that had been taken out of hers and Danny's desk drawers, trying to see if there was anything missing... or anything new that had been added. So far, they had come up with... nothing.

"Shit," Stella huffed, wiping a lock of curly hair from her forehead with the back of her arm. "Not a single print. Not one that doesn't belong here." She collapsed into Danny's chair, heaving a sigh of frustration at their lack of progress. "You find anything, Lindsay?" she asked.

"Hmm? Oh, no nothing," she replied absentmindedly.

"Lindsay? What is it?" Stella asked, sitting up in her chair.

"It's... oh, it's nothing," Lindsay said, blushing. "It's just, I found a bunch of notes that Danny and I wrote to each other, way back when we were still dating. I thought... I thought we'd gotten rid of them, but Danny had them this whole time, stuffed in a file in his drawer."

Stella smiled at her friend. "Danny Messer, a closet romantic." She shook her head. "Nah, I can't picture it," she chuckled as Lindsay gave her a playful shove.

"I can't believe he kept these," Lindsay said, more to herself than to Stella, a huge smile spread across her face. Stella watched her friend closely, happy to see the heavy burden of the day lifted from her shoulders, if only temporarily. She watched as Lindsay carefully picked up each note, read it, then placed it back in the file, each one causing her smile to brighten, until she looked like she was almost back to her old self.

Lindsay continued to flip through the notes until a disturbance in the hall caught her attention, and her head snapped up as a familiar voice rang out angrily down the hall.

"Let me go, you fucking asshole!"

"Shut up, Danny!" Flack's voice could be heard over the scuffling of feet on the tile floor. "Just shut up, and get in there until I come get you."

The sound of a door being slammed ricocheted down the hallway, followed by the muffled sound of Danny yelling behind a closed door.

"Mac! I need you here!" Flack bellowed down the hall, followed by the sound of running footsteps.

"What happened?"

"Dan an me, we were in the locker room and two douche bags come in slagging on Lindsay, and Danny... he lost it Mac. I can't get him to calm down." Lindsay heard the sound of someone hammering on glass before it was drowned out by Flack's voice. "I said stay in there until you calm down!"

"Fuck you!"

Lindsay threw the file she had been going through down on the floor and ran out into the hallway, taking in the scene in front of her with wide eyes.

Mac and Flack were standing in the hallway, Flack holding onto the handle of Mac's door while Danny frantically hammered on the glass with his fists, his face red and full of rage.

"Don, what..."

"Linds... shit," Flack said as Lindsay approached him. "I... Shut up and sit down, Danny. For Christ's sake!"

Lindsay looked through the glass at her husband who slammed his fist against the door once more before starting to pace back and forth, his hands clenched into fists.

"You can't keep me in here!" he bellowed.

"Yeah? Watch me." Flack muttered at Danny, who gave him a murderous glare.

Flack leaned against the door, his chest heaving with the exertion of the past few minutes.

"What happened?" Mac asked again, his arms crossed in front of his chest, his expression serious.

Flack leaned his head back against the door and closed his eyes.

"After you called me, I went to check on Danny. Told him I was gonna take him down to the gym and let him blow off some steam," he said, opening his eyes and looking down at Mac. "We're getting ready to go and Tweedle-dum and Tweedle-dumber over there," he pointed at the two lab techs who had come stumbling out of the locker room, "walk in and start spouting off about..." he paused, glancing quickly at Lindsay before continuing, "seeing Lindsay in the video," he said awkwardly.

Lindsay felt a knot form in the pit of her stomach, her cheeks burning with shame. She crossed her arms over her chest, cringing at Flack's words.

Mac shook his head and glared at the two anxious employees who were hovering just out of earshot down the hall.

"I couldn't move fast enough, Mac," Flack said. "I mean, I looked up, and Danny was gone. Then I hear a commotion from over by the door, and I see that assface on the ground with a busted nose, and Danny's got shit-for-brains by the neck. He went ballistic, Mac. I ain't never seen him so pissed off before. And believe me, that's saying something."

Mac looked worriedly at Lindsay before turning his attention back to the two employees who were slinking away down the hall. "Hey! You two," he shouted. "Over here. Now!" Slowly the two men turned, sharing a worried glance with one another before they slowly made their way back toward Mac, their heads hung low.

"In," Mac said as he reefed open his office door, waving the two battered men inside.

"No way," said the one with the broken nose, who was dabbing at his face with a sodden red tissue. "You're crazy if you think I'm putting myself in the same room as that psychopath after what he did to me."

"I said in," Mac repeated, enunciating every word, his voice dangerously low.

Lindsay lowered her eyes to the floor as the two men walked past her into the room, not wanting to see the looks on their faces. She felt Mac's hand on her arm.

"Lindsay, are you okay?" he asked softly. She lifted her eyes and looked at him, seeing the compassion in his expression. She nodded silently, unable to form words.

"Maybe Stella could take you to the break room, get you something to drink," he suggested, indicating for Stella, who had been hovering back by Danny and Lindsay's office door, to come get her.

"No," she said firmly. "I want to be in there."

"Lindsay," Mac protested.

"I want to be with Danny," she said determinedly.

He sighed, then nodded his head. "Okay," he said as he held the door open for her. She walked briskly past him into the room, heading over to where her husband was pacing, glaring at the bloodied and battered lab techs. Sensing her approach, Danny turned to look at her, his expression instantly softening when he saw the look on her face.

He stopped his pacing and stood, opening her arms for her to collapse into, which she did, burying her face in his chest and clinging to him.

Flack slipped into the room before Mac closed the door and moved to stand in the space between Danny and the two men from the locker room, while Mac went to his desk and leaned back against the front of it, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger.

"I thought I made it perfectly clear that discussion of the contents of the email that was received this morning was strictly forbidden," he said.

The two men shuffled uncomfortably, looking nervously between Mac and Danny.

The first one, spoke, his voice sounding unnaturally nasal thanks to his rapidly swelling and still bleeding nose. "We... we didn't think anyone would hear us."

Danny scoffed at the man's response. "Yeah, because that makes it all okay," he muttered. "Fucking prick."

"Danny, that's enough," Mac snapped. "And that's no excuse, Collins," Mac said, removing his hand from his face and lowering it to the desk beside him. "I told all employees that what was received this morning was a violation of the privacy of Detectives Messer and Messer, and that anyone caught maligning them because of the contents of that email would be dealt with severely. What part of that didn't you understand?"

Collins didn't respond. Instead he glared malevolently at Danny before lowering his eyes back to the floor, sniffing pathetically and wincing at the effect it had on his tender nose.

"Oh, so we get raked over the coals here, while Golden Boy gets what? A pat on the head? A smack on the nose with a rolled up newspaper? That's fucking unbelievable," shouted the other man, his voice still raspy and his throat red from where Danny's arm had pressed against it.

Mac glared at him, pushing himself off the desk and walking slowly forward. "Detective Messer will have consequences for his behaviour today," he said, "But how I choose to deal with him is none of your business." Mac came to a stop with mere inches separating himself from the man. "Do you have a problem with that, Jones?" he asked.

Jones looked at Mac defiantly, but his gaze faltered as Mac continued to stare him down, his grey eyes boring through to the back of his head. "No sir," he croaked, rubbing his sore neck and averting his gaze.

"Good," Mac said, taking a step back. "Now go clean up and clock out. You are both suspended for two weeks without pay," he said, pointing to the door and dismissing them. As they began to move across the room toward the door, Jones looked over to where Danny and Lindsay were standing, Lindsay leaning against her husband, his arm wrapped around her shoulders in a protective shield.

Jones raked his eyes up and down Lindsay's body appreciatively. His actions did not go unnoticed by Danny, who's eyes flashed with anger as he saw the man's gaze come to rest on his wife's backside. Danny felt his anger bubble to the surface once more as Jones's eyes met his own, and the bastard leered at him before giving Lindsay a final appraising glance. "Nice," he said, winking at Danny.

"You fucking prick! Come here and say that," Danny yelled as Flack and Lindsay held him back, while Mac grabbed Jones by the scruff of his neck and forcibly led him from the room.

"Danny! Danny, come on, buddy," Flack said, gripping Danny by the shoulders while Lindsay held him by the waist. "Come on, man. Calm down. He's not worth it."

"Shit! Fucking asshole," Danny raged against the hands that held him back before his body sagged and he collapsed onto the couch, his elbows on his knees and his face buried in his hands.

"Don. Lindsay. Out." Mac re-entered the room, his face flushed as he made his way over to stand in front of Danny.

"Mac, please. Can't I..." Lindsay was cut off by Mac.

"I said out," he said pointing the door. Lindsay and Flack gave one another a worried glance before filing out of the room. As she passed Danny on the couch, Lindsay paused to press a kiss to the top of his head.

"I'll be outside, baby," she whispered.

"Yeah," Danny said miserably without looking up.

Lindsay laid her hand on his shoulder before turning and walking from the room.

Mac walked over and sat beside Danny, letting out a deep sigh.

"Mac, I'm sorry," Danny mumbled into his hands. "I just... I heard what those two fuckers were saying about Linds, and I... I didn't even know what I was doing until Flack pulled me off that prick, Jones."

"Danny, you've been through a lot today," Mac said, "And I realize that this amount of stress manifests itself in people in different ways. But I can't let this slide, and I think you know that."

Danny groaned into his hands before running his fingers through his hair and slumping back on the couch. "I know," he said morosely.

"Taking your circumstances into consideration, I'm placing you on modified assignment for a minimum of two weeks. After that time is up, we'll reassess your situation, and if I'm satisfied that you are ready, you can go back to work in the field. But until then, you are on desk duty. Give me your badge and gun."

Danny nodded his head, biting his lower lip as he reached down and pulled his badge from his pocket and detached his gun from the holster on his hip, handing both over to Mac. Standing up, he turned to face Mac. "We done?" he asked.

Mac nodded his head, standing up and walking to his desk. He pulled open a drawer and dropped Danny's gun and badge inside, pushing the drawer shut with his hip. "Yeah, we're done. Go home Danny," he said. "Take Lindsay with you. Go see your daughter. Calm down, and come back tomorrow ready to work."

Danny nodded his head, shoving his hands deep into his pockets. "I'm sorry, Mac," he said again before turning and walking out of the office.

"Me too, Danny," Mac said to Danny's retreating back. He sighed and pulled his chair out from his desk, sitting down heavily. He watched as Lindsay walked up to Danny, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him into a quick embrace before releasing him and taking his hand in her own, walking with him down the hallway.

The events of the day played heavily on Mac's mind. He hoped he'd done the right thing. By rights, Danny should have been suspended, but Mac thought that putting him on modified assignment would be better. At least that way the team could help to keep an eye on him, and there was a better chance of keeping him safe from whoever had left that note in Lindsay's locker. A better chance of keeping him safe from danger.

**

* * *

**

Um, so who hates Jones? LOL. *Ooh, pick me! Pick me!* What a douche bag! Jeez. I couldn't resist though... I wanted to get one more quick peek at angry, sexy, wild Danny before the end of the chapter.

**You're welcome ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Wow. I simply cannot believe the response that I have had from you all for this story. I am truly and deeply touched, and I can't thank you enough for the comments of support that I have gotten after each update. I'm constantly surprised to find that people are actually reading what I've written, and even more surprised when I find out that you actually **_**like **_**it. It boggles the mind... but in a good way! I guess all I can say is... Thank You! And BTW, I am so glad to find out that I'm not the only one who is *slightly* turned on by the thought of angry, possessive, animalistic, sexy Danny... Le sigh.**

**I apologize for the slight delay in posting this chapter. I was going to work on it on Wednesday, but was too nervous about the finale. Then on Thursday, I felt guilty for ignoring my other story, so I wrote a chapter for that one. Then last night, I actually got most of this story written, but didn't post it as I was too tired and was worried that my sentences were no longer making sense. So, I've come back to it today with fresh eyes and tried to catch all of the weird sort of half-sentences that my sleep-deprived brain tried to sneak in. I hope I caught them all. Please let me know if there are any glaring errors, so that I can come back and fix them. :)**

**Okay, now that I've got that out of the way, we can jump right into Chapter 8...**

* * *

It was late and he was tired. So very tired after their long and overly emotional day. But no matter what he tried, sleep seemed to be eluding Danny. And he knew that Lindsay wasn't faring any better, that she too was losing the battle with her restlessness. He turned his head on his pillow, looking at his wife laying beside him, her profile illuminated in the light from the streetlights creeping between their curtains.

"Linds? You awake?"

He heard a weary sigh from her side of the bed and felt the mattress shift as she rolled over on her side to face him. He could see the worry and exhaustion on her face, and he wished that there was something he could do about it.

"I can't sleep, Danny," she whispered. She shuffled closer to him so that she could rest her head on his pillow.

"I know, Linds," he said, moving his arm so that she could move closer, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders as she lay her head on his chest. "Every time I close my eyes, my mind starts to whir and I feel like there's a thousand thoughts fighting for my attention all at once."

Lindsay sighed and moved her hand to his chest, toying with his dog tags. "That's not it, Danny," she said. "Not for me, anyways."

"What is it, sweetheart?" he asked. "You can tell me."

"I just... no, it's stupid," she said. "I'll be fine. Go back to sleep, Danny."

Danny shifted so that he was sitting up, pulling Lindsay with him and leaning back against their pillows. "Whatever it is that's bothering you isn't stupid, Lindsay," he said, pressing a kiss to her temple. "If it's important enough to keep you up at night, then it's important to me too."

Lindsay turned her head and looked up at him, her eyes searching his in the semi-darkness of the room. She sighed then rested her head back down on his shoulder.

"I don't feel safe," she whispered. "And I know we checked everywhere when we got home tonight, but I feel like there are eyes on me, like every move I make is under observation. Especially here. In our bedroom."

Danny's chest tightened as he listened to Lindsay express her fears. They had made a thorough search of their apartment when they'd gotten home from picking up Lucy after work, examining anything and everything that they felt could possibly be some kind of recording device. It had been a horrible experience, yet Danny had been fairly confident that they had left no stone unturned.

Seeing themselves on that video, so exposed and so uncensored with one another, had affected them both so deeply, more deeply than either of them was willing to admit at first. Of course, it had been humiliating to find that their most intimate moments were caught on film and shared with people that they worked with. That had been bad enough.

But now this? This pervading sense of paranoia that they had both experienced upon walking into their apartment this evening was worse than the humiliation. The sense that they weren't safe in their own home, that someone had managed to infiltrate their lives at this level, was unnerving to say the least. During the day they had had other people and other things to keep their minds off the deeper issues at hand, but in the dark of the night there were no distractions, and their minds were free to wander as they pleased into uncharted territory.

Danny tightened his grip on his wife. He wanted, more than anything else in the world, for her to feel safe in his arms. But right now he was holding her to him, and he could feel her trembling at the thought that someone could be watching them right now. He had failed her in this regard, and it killed him to see her struggling with her fears like this, when there was nothing he could do or say right now that would make her feel any better.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, Linds?"

"I can't do this. I can't be here, in this room. Not after what happened," she said, her voice trembling. "I feel so vulnerable. I... I have to get up. I can't be in here anymore."

Danny sighed as Lindsay pushed herself off of him and moved to get out of bed.

"Lindsay, where are you going?" he asked sitting up straight and trying to grab her hand. But she pulled away, standing beside the bed and looking back at him.

"I'm sorry, Danny," she said, tears starting to form in her eyes as she crossed her arms over her chest. "I... having you touch me, here in our bedroom, after what happened? I feel so..." she closed her eyes, searching for the word. Danny held his breath, waiting. Hoping that she wouldn't use the word that he had been dreading to hear her utter all day.

"Dirty."

Danny felt his heart break at the pained look on Lindsay's face. He reached out to her, only to have her take a step back. "I'm sorry, Danny. I can't. I just can't."

"Baby, don't. Please," Danny pleaded with her. "Don't do this. Come back to bed. I won't... I won't touch you if you don't want me to. I promise."

Lindsay gazed down at him, and he could see the hesitation in her eyes.

"Please," he said simply, holding out his hand to her. She shook her head and took another step back.

"I can't," she repeated before turning and walking out of the room.

Danny's hand fell to the bed, and he felt himself choking up at the sight of his wife's retreating back.

* * *

Lindsay lay curled up on the couch feeling worse than she had back in the bedroom. Now on top of everything else, she had Danny's heartbroken face as she rejected him swirling around in her mind. She buried her face in the cushion and sobbed, her anger and frustration at their situation once again overwhelming her.

Why had she pushed him away? He had only wanted to help, and every fibre of her being had screamed at her to just fall back into his arms and let him take away the pain and grief. But she couldn't. Some nagging fear in the back of her mind had made her turn and walk from the room, leaving Danny reaching out for her. At the thought of him lying alone in their bed, the bed that she couldn't seem to get comfortable in, made her sob all the harder.

So engrossed was she in her misery that she didn't hear the bedroom door creak open, or the soft footsteps that padded toward her. She felt the couch dip as Danny sat down at the other end, being careful to keep his distance.

"Honey?" his voice was laced with concern. "Baby? Are you okay?"

Lindsay pressed her face deeper into the cushion, unable to look at her husband, not wanting to see the hurt in his eyes, the longing that she knew he had to reach out and touch her.

"Lindsay, baby. Please look at me."

Hearing the soft pleading in his voice, Lindsay raised her head, turning to look at him. Although he was just at the other end of the couch, he felt so far away. He was looking at her with such love and concern in his expression, and she felt her heart thud loudly in her chest.

"Please come back to bed," he asked her softly, gently reaching out and placing his hand on her foot, the closest part of her to him. "You can't sleep out here all by yourself," he said quietly.

"Well, I can't sleep in there either," Lindsay replied, laying her head back down on the arm of the couch and pulling her knees up to her chest, removing her foot from under Danny's hand. Fresh tears began to seep from her eyes as she felt him get up from the couch. She listened as his footsteps retreated back to the bedroom, and once again she turned her face into the cushion and wept.

She felt sad and alone as she lay on the couch, her mind churning over the events of the day, and her insides cramping with anxiety at what the next day would bring for them. Usually, when she was awoken by a bad dream, or if she was restless, she would roll over and curl up in Danny's strong arms. Even when he was in the deepest of sleeps, his arms would instinctively close around her, holding her tightly to him and making her feel secure. She wanted to feel that again so badly.

She heard the bedroom door open again and listened as Danny's soft footfalls approached her again. She closed her eyes, feigning sleep as he neared her. She felt a slight heaviness over her body and realized that he had brought out the comforter from their bed for her, so that she wouldn't get cold. After draping it over her prone form, he gently tucked it in around her, ensuring that she was completely covered, then he stroked her head and kissed her cheek before turning and heading back to the bedroom.

"Danny?"

"Yeah, sweetheart?" he asked, stopping in his tracks and turning to face her. She reached out to him, snaking her arm out from under the blanket. She opened her eyes and in the dim light of the living room, saw him smile sadly at her. He moved forward slowly before dropping to his knees in front of the couch, resting his hand on her blanket-clad shoulder.

"Thank you, Danny," she whispered.

"I wish I could do more, baby," he replied. "I wish there was some button I could press or some switch that I could flick that would make this all go away. But there isn't, and we have to do the best we can until this is over. And if that means that you want to sleep on the couch, then the least I can do is make sure you're comfortable."

Lindsay felt her chest tighten and her throat constrict at his words. She looked back at him, wanting to say a thousand things, wanting to let him know that she wasn't mad at him, that it wasn't his fault. But no words would come, so instead she reached out from under the blanket, taking his hand in hers and interlacing their fingers. They sat looking at each other for a few moments until Lindsay's own bleary eyes finally closed, Danny sitting on the floor in front of her, his hand clenched tightly in her own.

* * *

Lindsay woke to the bright morning sunshine pouring in through the window, piercing her eyes through her closed eyelids. She yawned and rubbed her eyes as she stretched. She tentatively reached out a hand to feel for Danny beside her on the bed, panic rising inside of her as her hand met only air - no Danny and no bed.

She sat up and opened her eyes, blinking sleepily as she remembered last night. She blushed. In the cold light of day, she felt a deep sense of foolishness wash over her at the fears that had seemed so real in the night. She shook her head, trying to push away the memories of the look on Danny's face as she had walked away from him.

She lifted the blanket and moved to get up, but a soft groan from the other side of the room stilled her. She looked over and saw Danny asleep, half sitting, half sprawled out of the armchair, looking extremely uncomfortable as he slept. A smile slowly crept across her face. He hadn't left her, even though he would have been well within his rights to just turn on his heel and got back to the bedroom. He had come out and sat up with her all night to make sure that she was okay.

Lindsay stood up, wrapping herself in the blanket as she tiptoed over to Danny. She sat gingerly on the arm of the chair, leaning in and gently stroking Danny's cheek with the tips of her fingers. He stirred in his sleep, scrunching up his face and mumbling something unintelligible before his head lolled back and he began snoring lightly.

"Danny, honey," Lindsay whispered, placing a soft kiss on his forehead, "Come on, sweetie. It's time to get up."

Without opening his eyes, Danny yawned and stretched, cringing at the cracking sounds from his back and neck after sleeping in the armchair. He let out a soft groan as his hand reached around behind him and he started to rub the back of his neck as he opened his eyes a crack. Seeing Lindsay sitting beside him, he reached out and grabbed her, pulling her down onto his lap and letting her curl up into him, wrapping them both in the warmth of the blanket.

"Did you sleep okay?" he asked, his voice still raspy and groggy from sleep.

"Yeah, I did," Lindsay said, resting her head on his shoulder. "But what about you? Why didn't you go back to bed?"

She felt Danny shrug his shoulders. "I fell asleep on the floor. When I woke up a few hours ago, I didn't want to go back to bed by myself, so I just came and sat here... and I guess I fell asleep again."

"Thank you for staying with me," Lindsay said as she looked up at him.

"No problem, Linds," he said, kissing the tip of her nose. "Do you feel better this morning?" he asked.

"I do, " she said, nodding her head. "And I feel kind of ridiculous for how I reacted last night. I don't know what came over me... I guess I just kind of panicked. I'm sorry, Danny."

"You have nothing to be sorry for, Linds," Danny said, resting his cheek against the top of her head. "We went through a lot of shit yesterday. And there's going to be more shit for us to deal with today. I had my meltdown already yesterday," Danny grinned sheepishly at her, thinking back to the incident in the locker room and the ensuing meeting with Mac that had resulted in him being put on modified assignment. "So, I was just kind of biding my time until you had yours... hoping that there would be something that I could do to help."

"Thank you," she said again. She felt Danny's arms tighten around her once more.

They sat there for a while, curled up in each other's arms, neither of them wanting to be the first to break the spell. As long as they sat there together, it seemed like they were safe. Like there was nothing bad outside their door waiting for them. Like everything was going to be okay.

A soft whimpering from Lucy's bedroom brought them both back to reality. Lindsay sighed as she untangled herself from Danny's arms and got up, reaching down to pull Danny from the chair as well. She handed him the blanket and he headed into the bedroom while she moved down the hall to Lucy's room. Their day had officially begun, and it was time for them to begin their morning routine, as if it was just another day.

**

* * *

**

So... are we getting a sense of foreboding here? I really hope so, because that's what I was going for.

**I realize that this chapter may seem like a bit of a filler, but let's just call it the calm before the storm, shall we? More to come...**

**Please leave me a review or a comment and let me know your thoughts! **


	9. Chapter 9

****

A/N: Poor Danny and Lindsay. They had a rough night in the last chapter, hey? Well, things aren't about to get any better for them. You remember that storm that I said was coming... well... here it comes.

**Thank you again to those who reviewed. I felt that I needed to bring the pace of the story down a notch before I kicked it up again! For those of you have read any of my other stories, you know that I love to tease ;)**

**So, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Please enjoy Chapter 9!**

* * *

Danny was just finishing in the bathroom after shaving and getting ready for work when Lindsay knocked on the door. "You almost done, babe?" she asked. "I need you to watch Lucy so I can finish getting ready."

Danny had quickly washed the last of the shaving cream from his face before drying off with a hand towel and turning to open the door.

"Hey," he said, placing a chaste kiss on his wife's forehead before taking Lucy from her and balancing her on his hip. "Bathroom's all yours, sweetheart."

"Thanks, Danny," Lindsay said. They traded places and Danny found himself standing in the hall facing the closed bathroom door. He sighed to himself, then looked at Lucy who was protectively clutching her teddy bear.

"Hey, baby girl," he said. "You all ready for daycare? Let's go get your shoes and your lunch together, okay?"

Lucy held her bear tightly and nodded her head. She was normally so chatty in the morning, but today she'd barely said two words to either of them. Danny was slightly worried. He and Lindsay always tried to keep any problems they had - whether with work or with one another - away from Lucy. But obviously, they had been unsuccessful at shielding her from the tension in their home this morning.

"Hey, Luce," Danny said, forcing a smile onto his face and jiggling his little girl in his arms. "What's the matter?"

Instead of responding, Lucy simply nuzzled her head into Danny's shoulder and started to suck her thumb, something that she hadn't done in months. "Aw, come on, Lucybear," Danny chided his little girl. "Don't do that. Tell Daddy what's wrong."

Danny was startled from his one-sided conversation with Lucy by the jarring sound of the phone ringing. He walked into the kitchen and with Lucy still balanced on one hip, Danny picked up the phone.

"Hello?" he said. There was silence on the other end of the line. "Hello? Who's there?" Danny repeated.

Nothing.

He listened carefully, and thought he heard the faint sound of someone breathing. "Who is this?" Danny demanded again. Still there was no response, so Danny hung up the phone. He had barely had time to blink before he heard the familiar chime of Lindsay's cell phone ringing in her purse, which was sitting on the kitchen table.

"Honey, could you please get that?" Lindsay called from the bathroom where she was still finishing getting ready.

"Yeah, sure," Danny said, rummaging through her bag until he produced her cell phone, which he flipped open. "Hello?" he said.

The same eerie silence greeted him, and Danny felt an angry queasiness begin to build in his stomach. Conscious that he was still holding his daughter in his arms, Danny chose his words carefully.

"Look, you jack ass," he hissed into the phone, "I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I swear that if you don't cut this crap out, I will find you. I'm not a fan of your prank calls, so knock it off, or I you'll regret it. You got that?"

His words were met by a sinister chuckle, and then a response that sent chills down his spine. "Oh, I got it, Messer. See you soon." Then the line went dead.

Danny pulled the phone from his ear and stared down at it. He pressed the button to bring up the list of calls received and was disturbed to find the words _Unknown Caller _staring back at him. _Shit_.

He closed Lindsay's phone, making a mental note to find out as much as possible about this unknown caller when he got to the lab. As he placed Lindsay's phone back into her purse, he heard her approaching footsteps as she came into the kitchen.

"Who was on the phone, babe?" she asked, leaning over and taking Lucy from him.

Danny didn't know what to do. He didn't want to alarm her, but they had also promised each other that there would be no secrets. He sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands before leaning back against the kitchen counter. Lindsay was staring back at him, a worried look on her face.

"Danny? Who was on the phone just now?" she asked again.

"I don't know, Linds," he replied, shaking his head.

"What? What do you mean, _you don't know_?"

"I mean, _I don't know_, Lindsay," he snapped. Seeing her expression at the harshness in his voice, Danny decided to change his tone. "I'm sorry, honey," he said softly, reaching out and sweeping her bangs from her forehead. "I answered and there was nobody there, so I hung up. Then your phone rang and it was the same thing... silence."

He saw a flicker of unease in Lindsay's eyes as she considered the potential implications of such a call. He couldn't bear the idea of worrying her further, but he also knew that she would be furious with him - and rightly so - if she found out that he had kept the second half of the phone call from him.

"Danny? Is there something you're not telling me?"

Danny crossed his arms over his chest and nodded. "The call on your phone... I could hear someone breathing, so I told whoever it was to knock off the prank calls... and he knew my name, Linds. Called me Messer, and then he hung up."

He watched Lindsay carefully, and the slight shiver that ran through her body was not lost on Danny. The unease was back, but now instead of being a momentary flicker, it was more of a lingering feeling of apprehension.

"Danny..." she started, her voice trembling slightly. He leaned forward and captured both his wife and his daughter in his arms, embracing them both tightly.

"I'll look into it as soon as I get to work, okay babe?" he whispered into her hair. He felt her nod her head in agreement against his chest. He held them both for a moment longer, until the sound of his own cell phone ringing in the bedroom interrupted them.

Danny and Lindsay pulled back from one another, sharing a worried glance as Danny's phone continued to ring.

"It's probably just Mac," Lindsay said. Danny could tell that she was trying to convince herself of that possibility. He smiled down at her, stroking her hair affectionately before he moved from their embrace and headed to the bedroom.

"Yeah, I'm sure you're right, honey," he said. Once he was in the bedroom and Lindsay was out of sight, Danny let his defences down. The reassuring smile slipped from his face and he squared his shoulders before picking up his phone. He looked down at the display and let out a sigh of relief at the name he saw there.

"Hey, Hawkes. What's up?"

"Nothing much man," Hawkes said. "I was trying to reach Lindsay to tell her I'm going to pick her up to take her to a scene, but her cell phone was busy."

Danny stiffened. "Yeah. Um, yeah, she had another call," he said. "You need to talk to her?"

"Nah. Just let her know I'll be downstairs in five minutes," Hawkes said.

"Sure thing, Doc."

There was an awkward silence on the line as both men struggled to find something to say. Eventually they both spoke at the same time, their words overlapping in an unintelligible jumble.

"Okay, Doc. See you..."

"Hey, Danny. About yesterday..."

They both stopped speaking, and once again their was silence on the line. Finding the silence unnerving, Danny took a deep breath before he continued. "What were you gonna say, Hawkes?"

He heard Sheldon Hawkes chuckle lightly over the phone. "Sorry, Danny. I didn't mean to interrupt you. I was just going to say that... well, about yesterday... I'm really sorry about what happened to you guys. And just... if there's anything I can do... Danny, just say the word, and I'm there. Okay?"

"Thanks," Danny mumbled. "We appreciate that. And hey, Doc?"

"Yeah, Danny."

"Could you do me a favour and look after Linds today?" Danny asked, cautiously looking over his shoulder to make sure that his wife was not within listening distance of his conversation. "You know, just make sure... that she's okay. Let me know if anyone gives her a hard time or anything like that. And just... keep her safe."

"You got it, buddy," Hawkes replied. And for the first time in over 24 hours, Danny allowed himself to relax, if only a little. Hawkes would be with Lindsay, and Danny was pretty sure he had seen Stella scheduled to be on field assignment that morning as well. Knowing that Lindsay would be among friends - people she knew and loved and was comfortable with - made Danny feel a little easier about letting her out of his sight.

"Thanks, Sheldon," Danny said. "I owe you."

"You owe me nothing, Danny," Hawkes replied. "You know that we all have your back. We all look out for one another. You guys are gonna be just fine."

"Thanks. I'll let Linds know you're coming."

"See you later, man," Hawkes said before hanging up.

Danny flipped his phone shut, placing it on the holster he wore on his belt. He sighed. His belt felt unnaturally empty this morning, as his badge and gun were currently being held by Mac back at the office until Danny had completed his mandatory two weeks of modified assignment. In layman's terms, he was chained to a desk for the next two weeks, while his wife would be out in the field where she would be exposed and vulnerable. It made his stomach churn to think of anyone laying a hand on her, and he hoped like hell that Hawkes was right, that they would be fine.

* * *

After Lindsay had left for the scene with Sheldon, Danny had been left to get Lucy to daycare and then make his way to the lab. With delays on the road due to construction, he managed to pull into the underground parking lot with seconds to spare. He locked the car behind him and trudged over to the elevators.

He was exhausted after his night of sleeping on the floor, then moving briefly to the armchair before Lindsay had woken him. After rushing around to get Lucy ready, he'd looked at his watch only to realize that there would be no time for breakfast for him that morning. And after the events of the previous day, neither he nor Lindsay had been able to eat dinner, both their stomachs churning at the prospect of food. He had hoped to get to the lab early enough to grab a coffee and a bagel from one of the street vendors outside, but he had no time.

His stomach growling in protest, Danny stepped out of the elevator onto the 35th floor. He nodded at Mac, who was sitting at his desk, overseeing the daily operations of the busy lab. Mac gave him a brief wave before turning his attention back to his computer monitor.

He made a quick stop in the AV lab where he asked Adam to check into the call made to Lindsay's cell phone that morning. Adam gave him a nervous glance when Danny requested that he keep the results to himself and only report back to him directly. "Please, Adam?" Danny pleaded, letting out a sigh of relief when he saw Adam nod his head in the affirmative. "Thanks, man," he said, before slipping out of the room.

Danny proceeded to his office, where he dropped his bag on the floor under his desk and collapsed into his chair. There was a stack of files sitting on his desk waiting for his attention. He sighed. This was the part of the job that he hated the most... and it was going to be his sole activity at work for the next two weeks at least. Ignoring the grumbling of his stomach, Danny reached for the first file and flipped it open, propping his tired head on his hand, his elbow resting on his desk. He began to read through the file and to make notes.

He was still in the exact same position three hours later when Flack walked into his office. He had managed to get through five of the files in that time, but it still felt as though he hadn't even made a dent. He looked up as his friend pushed through the office door and sat down in Lindsay's chair. It was a much welcomed distraction.

"Hey, Flack."

"Hey, Danno," Flack asked, eyeing his friend cautiously. "You doing better today?"

Danny nodded his head. "Yeah," Danny replied. Under the close scrutiny of Don Flack, Danny felt his cheeks start to burn with the shame he felt for his loss of temper the day before. "Hey, listen man," he said, lowering his eyes to his desk, "I just wanted to say thanks for yesterday. For keeping me in line... I mean, as best you could. I... I really appreciate it, Don. It takes a really good friend to be able to put me in my place like you did."

He could hear the smile in Flack's voice as he replied. "Hey, Danny, any chance to get to shove you around a little, you know I'm game."

Danny looked up at Flack and grinned. "I still think that you're an asshole."

"Yeah, well," Flack said, "It takes one to know one, Danno."

"Seriously, though, Don. Thanks... I know I kind of lost my head there for a bit, but it would have been a whole lot worse if you hadn't been there to stop me from..."

Flack held up his hand in protest. "Hey, I did it for you and for Lindsay. You don't gotta thank me," he said. "It's all part of the job description. You're a fucking magnet for trouble, Mess. And as your best friend, it's my duty to keep your ass in line."

Danny rolled his eyes at his friend. "Thanks. It's nice to know you think so highly of me," Danny shot back.

"Yeah, well. If you're not around, who the hell else is gonna put up with my sorry ass?"

Danny thought for a moment. "Carolyn at the reception desk?" he asked, ducking to avoid Flack's fist which shot out toward him. "Whoa, did I hit a nerve there, Don?"

"Yeah, you just mind your business, Messer," Flack said.

Their friendly banter was interrupted by the sound of Danny's stomach growling loudly.

"Whoa, Danny. Time to feed the beast, or what?" Flack asked, grinning at Danny.

"Shut up. I haven't eaten since..." Danny paused. He'd missed breakfast that morning and dinner the night before. And he couldn't remember having lunch either... he vaguely remembered a bagel for breakfast yesterday, but he wasn't sure.

"From the sounds of your gut, you haven't eaten in, what, minutes?" Flack laughed. "Come, on," he said, standing up and moving to the door. "Lets grab something and get out of here for a few minutes."

Danny nodded his head, flipping the file he was reading closed and pushing his chair back from the desk. "Yeah, let me just grab my stuff from the break room," he said.

"Sure. Meet you at the elevators," Flack said, opening the door and beginning to move down the hall.

"Okay. Say hi to Carolyn for me, will you?" Danny threw back at his friend's retreating back before heading the other direction to the break room.

"You're an ass, Messer!" he heard Flack reply. Grinning, Danny walked over to the fridge where he had left the lunch Lindsay had made for him the previous day. He pushed aside the contents of the fridge - other people's bag lunches, condiments, creamer, and soft drinks - until he found his own brown paper bag with his wife's recognizable hand writing on the front.

D. Messer

He opened the bag to see what was inside and smiled at the contents he saw there. An apple, sandwich and a bottle of water were waiting for him, along with a little note which was folded neatly and resting on top of the sandwich. He would read that later, when Flack wasn't around to make fun of him for being so domesticated.

He walked down the hall, noting that although there were still several people who refused to meet his gaze, the majority of the people he passed gave him shy, supportive smiles. He nodded back to those who were brave enough to offer him a greeting. He walked up behind Flack who was leaning over the reception desk, deep in a conversation with Carolyn, who was giggling at something Flack had said.

"Hey, man. You ready to go?" Danny asked.

"Hey, sure, Dan. So, Carolyn, I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Sure thing, Donnie," Carolyn replied, giving him a flirty little smile.

Danny followed Flack into the elevator. As soon as the doors closed, Flack crossed his arms over his chest, leaning back against the wall of the elevator. "Don't say it, man. Don't even fucking think about it."

"What?" Danny asked innocently. "I wasn't gonna say anything... Donnie." A huge smirk spread over Danny's face as he watched his friend blush and squirm uncomfortably. "So... how long has this been going on?"

"Huh? What? It's nothing, Danny," Flack replied, shrugging his shoulders, his face still beet red. "We flirt. It's nothing."

"Whatever you say, Donn..."

"Finish that sentence and I will end you fucking life, man," Flack replied, fighting the grin that was threatening to break out across his face.

"Well, when you put it that way," Danny replied, deciding that his friend needed a change of topic. "Where do you want to go to grab lunch?"

"I'll get a hot dog from the guy outside. Meet you in the courtyard in five?"

"Sounds good," Danny replied as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor. "See you in a few."

As Flack made his way out the front doors to his beloved hot dog stand, Danny went out a side door that let to a secluded little park area that was enclosed by the surrounding buildings on three sides, the fourth side open to a small garden, and behind that, an alleyway. The entire area was lined by a wall of shrubs. In the centre, there were a few benches and tables for staff from the buildings to sit and enjoy their coffee or lunches in relative quiet while still being able to be outdoors.

Danny sat on a bench nearest the garden and opened his brown paper bag, pulling out the sandwich Lindsay had made for him. His stomach grumbled obnoxiously at the prospect of food, and Danny ripped open the sandwich bag and took a bite, barely chewing before he had devoured half the sandwich. God, it was just a sandwich, but it felt good to get something into his system. He took a swig of his water and started in on the second half, going slower now that his stomach was relatively satisfied.

He chewed the first bite, then stopped. He rolled the contents of his mouth around on his tongue for a moment. _What was that taste? _He recognized it, but barely. It was like it was from a memory a long time ago. He swallowed the bite and took another. It was salty, but kind of sweet and very sticky at the same time. As he prepared to take another bite, he stopped to scratch his arm, which was suddenly very itchy. He scratched and scratched, but got no relief. _Fucking mosquitoes_, he thought to himself.

He pulled back the sleeve of his jacket to have a look and was horrified to find a nasty, blotchy red rash had formed on his arm. _What the fuck_? Suddenly, it was like his whole body was on fire. He itched everywhere - his arms, his legs, his chest, his back, his neck.

He started to panic. What the hell was wrong with him? He felt his chest start to constrict. His throat was starting to itch, and it was suddenly getting very difficult to breath. _Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit_. He knew what this was. This had happened to him before when he was a kid. He fumbled in his pocket for his cell phone, but his fingers wouldn't cooperate.

He was taking panicked and shallow breaths and was starting to get light headed. He tried calling for help, but he was rapidly running out of oxygen and because of his swollen throat, his voice wasn't cooperating. Suddenly, he felt strong hands on his arms and he looked up to see a man leaning over him, a look of concern on his face.

"Hey mister? Are you alright? Do you need help?"

Unable to answer, Danny nodded his head, pointing to his throat.

"Oh, my God. Um, okay. I'll go get help and... no. That won't work. I can't leave you here by yourself. Um... can you walk if I help you? I'll take you inside and we can get you to First Aid."

Alarm bells started going off in Danny's brain. Why didn't the guy just call for help? Use his cell phone? His skin was painfully itchy, and he looked down and was startled to see that he had scratched his arm until it started to bleed.

He felt the man's arms grab him under his armpits and heave him up. He was almost completely deprived of oxygen, leaving him unable to put up a struggle or call for help.

He felt his heels dragging along the ground as the man dragged him away from the bench. As his eyes began to lose focus, he realized that they were not heading into the building, but through the garden and out into the alleyway. He gave one last feeble attempt at putting up a fight, but to no avail. He was too weak, his limbs numb and clumsy from lack of oxygen. The world was starting to go dim as his raspy gasping breaths became painfully shallow.

He heard the distant sound of a sliding door opening, like the kind found on a van, and he was vaguely aware of being lowered down onto a hard floor. His foot was cold and damp, and he realized that in his struggle, he must have lost a shoe somewhere along the way. His heart hammering in his ears, he tried frantically to take in his surroundings before the light of day was lost to him forever, but his eyes refused to focus.

He listened as the sliding door slammed shut and a shadowy figure moved around him. The figure stooped over him, and Danny could hear the man breathing. His heart was beating painfully in his chest as his foggy brain started to piece things together.

"I told you I'd see you soon, Messer."

Those were the last words Danny heard before he took a final gasping breath. He let out a silent scream as he felt a stabbing pain in his upper thigh, and then his world went black.

**

* * *

**

So... thoughts?

Um, so, I hope that this chapter kept you guessing... I love to leave you on a cliffhanger ;)

**I would love to hear from you, so please feel free to leave me a review and let me know what worked for you and what didn't, as well as your theories about what's happened to Danny. **

**The drama continues in the next chapter, which will be up as soon as possible!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: *Grins* I'm back! You know I love to tease, but I couldn't leave you hanging like that for too long. I'm not that mean! Thank you all once again for your reviews... just awesome!**

**So, how many of you figured out what happened to Danny? Come on, raise your hands. I know from your reviews that several of you caught on to what was happening. You each get a million billion points! As for the rest of you, I hope that this chapter offers you some enlightenment.**

**Again, I was hesitant about doing scenes where I have to delve into the actual science of investigation. I'm not an expert, and any errors (and I'm sure there are a few!) are my own. So please be patient with me!**

**So, here we go... Chapter 10 (Yay! We're in double digits! Woot woot!)**

* * *

Flack muttered his thanks to the hot dog vendor, who had taken his sweet freaking time putting his order together, as he pocketed his change and picked up his hot dogs. He had gotten two for himself, and after seeing how truly ravenous his friend was, he had gotten another for Danny as well. He turned and walked back toward the building, being careful not to get mustard on his favourite tie as he pushed open the doors.

As he walked toward the side doors leading to the courtyard, he turned his wrist and looked at his watch. For the majority of the people working in the surrounding buildings it was a little late for a coffee break, and a bit too early for lunch. He shrugged his shoulders, figuring that after the events of yesterday, and what had probably been a rough night for his friend, Danny would prefer a little more privacy anyway. Flack emerged into the courtyard and looked around. He didn't see Danny anywhere. He paused. This is where Danny had said they'd meet, right?

Flack's insides began to churn as he noticed what looked to be a bag lunch abandoned on a bench near the garden. Taking a few more cautious steps forward, Flack looked down at the bench. The bag definitely belonged to Danny. The name _D. Messer _was written in Lindsay's swirly printing on the front.

Something wasn't right. Danny had been near starving... he wouldn't have dropped his lunch like that unless something had come up.

Beside the bag was a half a sandwich with one, possibly two bites taken out of it. Flack looked up, taking in his surroundings, trying to ascertain if Danny was just off somewhere talking on his phone, or if there was genuinely something wrong. He listened hard. He thought he heard the distant sound of a door sliding shut out in the alley, but other than that, it was relatively quiet in the courtyard.

As he looked around, something caught his eye. Over in the flowerbed, something was poking out of the ground. Something that didn't belong there. His detective instincts took over and Flack dropped the hot dogs on the ground and moved over to the flower bed. As he approached, his heart jumped up into his throat. It was a shoe. It was a black and white running shoe.

It was... Danny's shoe.

He grabbed his phone from his belt and dialled Mac's number.

"Taylor."

"Mac, it's Flack," he said. "We gotta situation here. I think something's happened to Danny."

"What? Don, where are you?"

"I'm downstairs, Mac," he replied, getting up and walking back to the bench where his friend had sat waiting for him. "I'm in the courtyard. Danny and I were gonna have lunch together and when I got here... he was gone."

He could hear the wheels turning on the other end of the line as Mac processed what he had just told him. "And you're sure he's not there? He's not out back talking on his phone, or gone to the bathroom?"

"Not without his shoe, he's not," Flack replied.

"What? Hang on, Don. I'll be right down," Mac replied and Flack could hear him rustling around in his office, drawers being opened then slammed shut in the background.

"Bring your kit, Mac," Flack said, "I think you're gonna need it." He hung up his phone and closed his eyes, hoping to God that he was wrong.

* * *

Adam Ross shuffled nervously, gripping his kit tighter. Mac had grabbed him out of the AV lab just a minute ago and told him to drop everything and grab his kit. He peeked up at Mac out of the corner of his eye and saw that his boss was standing stock still, his face a mask of anger and worry.

"Where are we going, Mac?" Adam asked.

"Downstairs," Mac responded sharply. Adam swallowed hard. Mac was a great boss, really. He was fair and understanding, and he was really good at his job. But he was also tough and intimidating, and he expected a lot from his team. And frankly, there were times when he scared the bejeezus out of Adam.

"Oh, okay," Adam mumbled, shuffling once again and looking away awkwardly.

He heard Mac sigh. "I'm sorry, Adam," he said. "It's not... it's not you. I'm... it's just, it's Danny."

"What about Danny?" Adam asked, turning to look at Mac.

"Flack thinks that he's gone missing." Mac's voice was low and flat as he spoke.

"What? But I just saw him, like an hour ago! He was sitting across the hall from me in his office all morning. How could he be missing?"

"I don't know Adam," Mac replied, turning to the young lab tech beside him. "But I need you to focus, okay?" He reached out and gently laid his hand on Adam's shoulder. "I know Danny's your friend, but you have to be able to distance yourself, Adam. Treat this like any other case, okay. Don't leap to any conclusions, and follow the evidence. You got it?"

Adam silently nodded his head. _How could Danny be gone?_ Adam had just talked to him hours before when Danny had come into the AV lab and asked him to take a look at Lindsay's phone records for the morning. Apparently, they'd been getting some prank phone calls that had Danny a little on edge. Adam knew that he shouldn't be using the lab equipment for something personal like that, but he had seen the desperation in Danny's eyes and he hadn't been able to say no.

He was about to tell Mac about his conversation with Danny when the elevator chimed to announce their arrival on the ground floor. The second the doors slid open, Mac stalked out of the elevator, followed quickly by Adam. They walked across the marble entrance hall and to the side doors where they could see Flack waiting for them through the glass.

"Anything?" Mac asked as they approached Flack.

Adam's heart sank when Flack shook his head in response. "And it doesn't look good, Mac. Not good at all."

"Show me," Mac said, letting Flack lead the way out into the courtyard. They approached the bench where Danny had been sitting, the remnants of his meal spread out on the seat.

"This is where he was sitting, then something happened. I don't know what yet," Flack said apologetically, "And then over here is where I found Danny's shoe in the dirt. I've already sent uni's to search a five block radius of the buildings, to see if Danny turns up somewhere in the neighbourhood."

Adam had set down his kit and pulled on his gloves while Flack and Mac had been talking. He crouched down in front of the bench and examined the leftover piece of sandwich.

"Hey, Mac!" he shouted, "Come here a sec!"

Mac and Flack walked over to the bench, peering down at Adam who had picked up the piece of sandwich and was sniffing it. "What does that smell like to you?" he asked.

Mac leaned down and let the scent from the sandwich waft up to his nose. His eyes went wide as he recognized the familiar smell. "It's peanut butter."

"What? What the hell would Danny be doing eating peanut butter?" Flack asked. "Everyone knows he's, like, deadly allergic..." his voice trailed off as he realized what he had been about to say. "Shit! Oh, shit!"

Mac straightened up, placing a calming hand on Flack's shoulder. "Call Danny's mom. I need to know what kind of reaction Danny would have if he ingested any peanuts, okay? Ask her if she remembers the symptoms, and whether or not he carried an epi-pen or anything like that."

Flack nodded his head, clearly shaken by the disappearance of his friend. He moved over to a solitary corner of the courtyard before taking out his phone and dialling.

Mac turned back to Adam. "Is there anything else, Adam?" he asked. "Anything that suggests that Danny left the courtyard of his own free will?"

Adam shook his head sadly. "I got bad news, Mac," he said. "Not only do we have the peanut butter, but there's also some blood here," Adam pointed to tiny droplets on the seat of the bench, "and there's a bloody fingerprint over here on the water bottle."

Mac followed Adam's finger as he pointed out the areas where the blood could be seen. On a hunch, Mac looked over the back of the bench, and his stomach did an alarming little flip as he realized that there was a faint trail made up of tiny droplets of blood leading from the bench all the way to where Flack had found Danny's shoe. He looked back at Adam.

"Swab that blood, get it upstairs and see if it's a match to Danny," he commanded. "And I want to know if there was anything other than peanut butter in that lunch that could harm him. And I want those bags dusted for prints, and I want trace on anything and everything in that bag."

"You got it Mac," Adam said, nodding as he opened his kit and took out the supplies he would need before getting down to work.

Mac looked over to where Flack was still talking on the phone. His shoulders were slumped and he was holding the phone to his ear with one hand and scrubbing his face with the other. Finally, he clicked his phone off and put it back in his pocket before walking over to join Mac.

"How is she?" Mac asked.

Flack shook his head, his face blank and his eyes staring off into space. "She's taking it hard. Said the last time Danny had a full blow allergic reaction, he went into such severe anaphylactic shock that he was in the hospital for days. Had him on a respirator because the swelling wouldn't go down and he couldn't breathe on his own. And yeah, he has an epi-pen, but she doesn't know if he carries it with him all the time." Flack looked at Mac, his eyes no longer blank, but filled with sorrow and worry. "She said the doctors told her the last time that without _immediate _medical attention - and we're talking ER medical attention, not the First Aid station - Danny would have died within twenty minutes at the most."

Mac closed his eyes and lowered his head. It had been well over ten minutes since Flack had called him, and probably close to that again since he and Adam had arrived. Which meant that basically, their time was up. If Danny was out there somewhere, without his epi-pen and with no one to help him get to a hospital, then he was gone. They were searching for his body.

"Where the hell would he go, Mac?" Flack said angrily. "I mean, what the fuck? I thought Danny was smarter than that. I mean, I've never had that kind of reaction before, but, Jesus! Danny decides to tempt fate and eat a peanut butter sandwich and then when his allergy starts to act up, he jumps up and runs off instead trying to get himself help? And where the fuck did he go? He's not in the building, he's not in the alley. No one's reported seeing anyone matching his description in the area. He hasn't gone out looking for help, that's for sure."

"I don't know where he is, Don," Mac said, giving the young detective a pat on the back. "But wherever he is, I don't think he went of his own free will. Take a look at this."

Mac showed Flack the trail of blood droplets leading from the bench to the garden where Danny's shoe had been found. "Look at Danny's shoe, Flack. Does anything seem wrong to you?"

"What, besides the fact that it's not on Danny's foot, you mean?" Flack asked. Seeing the expression on Mac's face, he hung his head. "Sorry. I know I shouldn't be joking here." He looked down at the shoe, then back toward the bench. "Shouldn't... shouldn't the shoe be facing the other way?" he asked. "I mean, if Danny was running toward the alley and his shoe came off, wouldn't it be _facing _the alley? But this shoe is facing the _bench_."

"Exactly," Mac said. "And look over here." He pointed further back in the flower bed where two parallel indentations could be seen in the dirt, heading all the way back to the alley. "Those look like footprints to you?" When Flack shook his head, Mac continued. "They're not. They're drag marks. I think that someone saw Danny having an allergic reaction and they came up behind him and dragged him off through the garden and out into the back alley."

"Fuck me," Flack breathed. "Shit!" He looked back over at the bench and watched as Adam placed the remains of Danny's sandwich in a jar and sealed it. "So this was all planned? The peanut butter was left for him?" Flack asked. "Someone was trying to kill him."

"I don't if the _whole _thing was planned, Don," Mac replied. "But it looks like a deliberate attack on Danny. I mean, whoever did this would have to be flexible and be able to think on his feet. He wouldn't know when or where Danny would end up eating his lunch. He could have been sitting in the break room or even at his desk. But Danny was alone and in a vulnerable state, so I guess the guy saw an opportunity and he took it."

"Shit. This is messed up, Mac," Flack said.

"You're telling me."

"So, what now?" Flack asked, knowing full well what Mac's response would be.

"Adam's going to head back to the lab with the samples he's collected. We're going to get the rest of the team back here and process this whole courtyard if we have to, see if we can't find out who it was that took Danny," he said.

"And Lindsay?" Flack asked softly. "Someone's going to have to tell her, Mac."

* * *

Hawkes was busy packing away the samples he had carefully collected at the scene that morning when he saw Mac's familiar black SUV pull up on the other side of the crime scene tape. He closed his kit and stood up, heading back to his own vehicle so he could get everything back to the lab.

"Hey! You guys are too late, we're almost done here," Hawkes called out as Mac emerged from the vehicle, followed closely by Don Flack. Hawkes's smile quickly faded when he saw the expression on the two men's faces. "Hey, what's up?" he asked. "Mac? What's going on?"

"Where's Lindsay?" Mac asked softly.

Hawkes felt his insides plummet down to his feet. Something had happened. Something was wrong. They wouldn't be here otherwise, not looking like this, like two merchants of death.

"Can I help?" Hawkes asked quietly.

Mac nodded. "Go back to the lab. I want you to get your hands on Danny's medical records. I need to know anything and everything about any medical conditions he may have. And I particularly want you to focus on any past episodes of anaphylaxis - How severe were they? How long did he take to recover? What caused them?"

"You got it, Mac," Hawkes replied, nodding his head and striding off toward his vehicle.

Mac surveyed the crime scene in front of him. The scene was almost clear. He could see Stella and Lindsay walking toward him, talking animatedly about something, clearly unaware of the devastating events of the morning.

"And he slept there all night?" Stella asked. She grinned as a shy smile curled up the corners of Lindsay's lips as she nodded her head. "Oh my God! How cute are the two of you? How sweet is Danny? You are a lucky girl, my friend."

Lindsay let out a soft laugh as her friend winked at her playfully. "I know I am, Stell," she said. She turned her eyes forward and a delighted smile spread across her face at the sight of Mac and Flack standing in front of her. "Hey guys! What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Stella, you mind giving us a moment alone with Lindsay?" Mac asked. The smile on both women's faces faltered at the seriousness in Mac's voice. Stella gave Mac a searching look as she nodded her head and gave Lindsay's arm a reassuring squeeze before she walked off toward her vehicle.

"Mac? What is it?" Lindsay asked. "Did you... did you find out who sent those notes and... and the video?"

Mac shook his head, trying to keep his emotions from getting the better of him. Lindsay was looking up at him so trustingly, and he was about to shatter her whole world. He saw Flack inch closer to Lindsay, putting his arm over her shoulders.

"Hey Linds," he said in a soft voice, "Maybe we should sit down for a sec, okay?"

Lindsay looked up at Flack, her eyes wide and her face pale. Mac could see that despite her attempts to remain calm, her hands were shaking. "No. I'm fine right here," she said stubbornly. "Tell me whatever it is right now."

From where she was standing, Stella couldn't hear the conversation taking place between Mac, Lindsay and Flack. But she knew that whatever it was, it wasn't good news. They had all read the note that had been left in Lindsay's locker the previous day, and her heart had started to beat a little faster in her chest when Lindsay mentioned that she and Danny had received some prank phone calls that morning, both on their home line and on Lindsay's cell phone. Although Lindsay hadn't been sure, Stella had a gut feeling that the calls were somehow connected to both the note and whatever it was that Mac and Flack were talking to Lindsay about right now.

She watched as Flack placed his arm around Lindsay's shoulders, and how Lindsay stiffened slightly as he tried to lead her to sit down on a nearby stoop. But Lindsay dug in her heals and refused to move. So Mac started to talk.

Stella's chest got tight and she felt a huge and immovable lump forming in her throat when she saw Lindsay's bottom lip begin to quiver. Then the first tears began to form in Lindsay's eyes. She was shaking her head and Stella could faintly hear the words, "No, no, no!" coming from her friend's lips as she wailed in protest.

She watched as Flack wrapped his arms around Lindsay when her shaking legs could no longer support her, pulling her petite form into a tight, brotherly hug as she wept. Stella wiped her own tears from her eyes, biting her lip at the anguished words she could hear as Lindsay cried into Flack's chest.

"Oh, my God! Danny! No!"

**

* * *

**

Again, I apologize if my crime scene writing skills are a bit awkward. But I hope that what I have written here makes at least a little bit of sense. And I tried to include a lot of character moments as well, hoping that it would make it feel less like a chapter full of exposition.

I know that many of you have a lot of questions about what exactly is going on, who is behind all of this, and what his plan is. The next few chapters will start to really get into the background of our (not so) friendly neighbourhood psychopath.

**I would love to hear back from you. **


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: So, basically, we pick up right where the last chapter left off... Lindsay is devastated, the whole team is upset, and Danny is nowhere to be seen, in the clutches of... someone. (You didn't really think I would give the answer away in an author's note, did you? LOL).**

**Once again, another huge shout-out to all of your reviewers out there. OMG! I just realized that as of Chapter 10, I'm at 100 reviews! Holy crap. Thank you, thank you, thank you!**

**So, as your reward for being so loyal, I bring you... Chapter 11**

* * *

The ride back to the lab had been one of the toughest of his life. Mac was struggling to keep it together himself, and hearing Lindsay crying into Flack's shoulder in the back seat had made it nearly impossible. She was inconsolable. She had screamed and pleaded with him to tell her that it wasn't true, that it was all a cruel joke. With tears in his eyes, he had shaken his head and told her he was sorry. This was no joke.

Then she had collapsed into Flack's arms, her sobs wracking her tiny frame. Flack had looked up at Mac with sad eyes, his arms wrapped protectively around his best friend's wife, looking for help. But what could they say? They had no idea where Danny was, who had taken him, or if he was even alive.

The two men had slowly walked Lindsay back toward Mac's SUV, Flack helping her into the back seat before walking around the vehicle and getting in beside her. Mac looked up as he walked over to the driver's side door, catching the eye of Stella Bonasera who was standing beside her own vehicle, her eyes brimming with tears.

_Is it true_? She had mouthed at him.

He had simply nodded his head before pulling open the door and settling himself in the driver's seat. He glanced in the rear-view mirror, taking in the heartbroken woman in the backseat before he buckled his seat belt and turned the key in the ignition.

* * *

A hush fell over the lab as the elevator doors opened and Flack, Lindsay and Mac stepped out into the hall. Everyone stopped to watch as a red-faced and teary-eyed Lindsay was lead into Mac's office, where Flack gently sat her down on the couch before moving out into the hallway to talk with Mac, Hawkes, and Adam.

"Please tell me we have something," Mac said, taking out his handkerchief and blowing his nose before turning to Hawkes and Adam, who had been working on the evidence gathered from the courtyard downstairs.

The group looked up at the distinct clacking noise of Stella's heels on the tile floor as she strode from the elevator, walking quickly toward the group. "What happened?" she asked as she approached her coworkers.

Flack gave her a brief description of what had happened that morning, telling her about finding Danny's half-eaten lunch and his shoe in the courtyard. Then Mac and Adam filled in the parts they knew, including the blood trail and the drag marks leading out into the alley. Stella turned to look into Mac's office. She saw Lindsay sitting alone on the couch, her back facing them.

"Poor kid," Stella said. "We've got to get this bastard!"

"We know, Stella," Mac said. "That's what we're trying to do. But I don't want to stand around out here discussing the case. Let's take this to the conference room. Everyone grab your stuff, and we'll meet in five minutes."

Four heads nodded their agreement.

"Okay, Mac."

"Yes, boss."

As Adam and Hawkes walked back to their various labs to collect their findings, Mac, Flack and Stella stood in the hall, observing Lindsay through the glass.

"What about Linds?" Flack asked quietly. "She's not gonna want to sit there by herself while we try to find Danny. She's gonna want to be involved."

"I think that if that's what she wants, then we should let her," Stella said. "She knows Danny better than any of us, and no one is more motivated to find him than she is."

"We'll let her decide," Mac said. "If she's not up to it, I'll get someone to take her over to Danny's mom's. I don't want her to be alone."

The three of them entered the office. Lindsay looked up at them, her eyes rimmed with red, but she was no longer crying.

"Hey, kiddo," Stella said, sitting beside Lindsay and placing her arm gently across her shoulders. "How're you doing?"

"How the hell do you think I'm doing, Stella?" Lindsay snapped.

"I'm sorry, Lindsay. That was a stupid question," Stella apologized. "Is there anything we can do to help? Do you need anything?"

Lindsay looked down at her hands, her fingers toying with her wedding band and engagement ring. Her face crumpled once again and she leaned on Stella's shoulder as her tears overwhelmed her once more. "I want him to come home," she sobbed. "I need him."

Flack looked over at Mac before sitting down beside Lindsay and gently taking her hand in his. "Hey, come on, Linds. We're gonna get this asshole," he said. "He tries something like this to one of us, he's gonna pay... big time. We'll bring Danny home for you."

Lindsay looked up at Flack, her cheeks glistening with tears. "You can't promise that, Don," she said softly. "I heard you talking about what happened. I've... I've never seen him have an allergic reaction before, but his mom told me about what it was like when he was little. If he didn't get to a hospital right away..." Her voice gave out as her eyes welled with tears once more.

"We'll get this guy, Lindsay," Mac said. "That I can promise you. Now, I need to know if you are going to be able to help. It's okay if you can't. We would all understand. But if you are up for it, we could really use you."

Lindsay sniffed and sat up, wiping her eyes with the tissue that Stella handed her. She looked down at her hand once again, twisting her wedding ring around her finger. Then she looked up at Mac. "I want to help."

* * *

The team gathered in the conference room, going over the evidence they had collected so far.

"The blood on the bench... was Danny's," Adam said, looking nervously at Lindsay who was staring blankly at the table as the people around the room talked. He took a deep breath and continued. "And so was the bloody fingerprint on the water bottle, as well as the blood on the ground. The droplet's were small, and the blood spatter didn't indicate that there was a struggle."

"Thanks, Adam," Mac said. "And what about the trace from the bag? Anything?"

"There was nothing wrong with any of the food, other than the peanut butter in the sandwich," Adam said. "I checked the water and the apple, and they hadn't been tampered with in any way."

"Good. That's good, Adam," Mac said, nodding his head. "Any idea why Danny was eating a sandwich containing something that he knew he was allergic to?"

"Sorry, boss," Adam said, shaking his head.

"Lindsay?" Stella said softly, placing her hand on Lindsay's arm to get her attention.

"Yeah?"

"Did Danny make his own lunch? Or..."

"I didn't do this to him!" Lindsay startled them all with the loudness of her voice. "We didn't even keep peanut butter, or anything with nuts in it, in the house at all. Ever!"

"Sweetie, no one's blaming you," Stella said, patting Lindsay's arm reassuringly. "I just wondered if you remembered what he had packed in his lunch, and when he brought it to work."

Lindsay hung her head. "I'm sorry, Stell," she whispered. Stella squeezed her arm, urging her to continue. "I made Danny's lunch for him yesterday morning before we came to work. It was a ham and cheese sandwich with... with mustard. But with everything that happened yesterday... we never got a chance to eat them, so we left them overnight in the break room fridge."

"So, anybody could have gotten to it," Flack said.

Hawkes looked over and gave Lindsay a small smile. "I went through Danny's medical file. I saw that he had a severe attack of anaphylaxis when he was about seven or eight. His file said that he had accidentally eaten a granola bar that had peanut butter in it. He didn't realize that what he was eating was bad for him, because he didn't recognize the taste - he'd never had peanut butter before."

"What else did the file say, Hawkes?" Flack asked.

"Well, the attack seemed to be pretty severe, but they tend to be worse when you're younger. There is a chance that he may have had a less aggressive reaction this time around. It's not uncommon for people to outgrow an allergy, or for the reactions to become less acute as a person ages. I think it's highly unlikely that he simply walked away on his own, but there's a chance that he could make it, as long as he had an epi-pen. That would alleviate the worst of the initial reactions and give us a bit of time to find him. But he would still need medical attention as soon as possible, or there could be severe complications. Once the brain is cut off from its air supply, there's a window of four minutes before a person suffers lasting brain damage, and eight minutes before the brain becomes irreversabily damaged. But under ideal circumstances, I'd say that Danny has a good chance of survival. He's strong and healthy, his lungs are in good condition, and he's stubborn as hell," he said, glancing at Lindsay, "He's a fighter. He wouldn't give up, Linds."

"Thanks, Hawkes," Mac said. "Anyone else? What do we have from the alley? And what about trace on the lunch bag?"

"Um, well, we found traces of dirt from the garden tracked out into the alley. They stopped about twenty feet from the back entrance to the courtyard. We checked, and there were some fresh tire tracks. I'm looking through the database now to try to narrow down a possible make and model for the tires, and corresponding vehicles."

"Great work, Adam," Stella said, patting the young man on the shoulder. "Anything else?"

"I found... um, I found a fingerprint that I don't think belongs... it was on the inside of the sandwich wrapper, and it wasn't Danny's and it hasn't come back as a match to anyone in the lab. I'm running it through AFIS now to see if it comes back to anyone that either Danny or Lindsay has had dealings with in the past."

Lindsay looked up at Adam, giving him a small smile. "Thanks Adam," she whispered. "You've been busy."

"It... it helps me keep my mind off of... things," Adam said, blushing slightly. Suddenly, something popped up into his head. "Uh... uh, I gotta go check something," he said, jumping up from the table and scurrying from the room.

"Okay," Mac said. "Is there anything else we should know? Did anybody see anything from any of the surrounding buildings? Any witnesses come forward?"

Flack shook his head. "Nah. Nothing, Mac," he said. "It's the classic bystander effect. You get too many witnesses who all see the same thing, they all assume that somebody else is going to do something about it. And in the end, no one does."

"Well, send your men door to door in the buildings if you have to, including this one. Someone saw something. It's not possible for Danny to be taken from an area that is surrounded by three of the busiest office buildings in New York, with thousands of potential witnesses, and yet no one saw anything."

"You got it, Mac," Flack said. He moved out into the hall to put a call in to the precinct. Adam passed him in the doorway, a file clutched in his hand. He sat down and looked nervously up at Mac.

"Adam?"

"Yeah, um... well, this morning I was talking to Danny, and, um, he... he asked me to do something for him," Adam stammered, trying to avoid Mac's steely gaze.

"What is it, Adam?" Stella asked gently. "You can tell us. No one is going to be mad."

Adam swallowed hard, giving Stella a nervous smile. "He, um, he asked me to look into some prank phone calls that he and Lindsay had gotten that morning..."

Everyone turned at the sharp intake of breath that came from Lindsay. "Oh, my God!" she breathed.

"What is it, Linds?" Flack asked, stepping back into the room, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"He told me," she whispered. "He told me this morning that someone had called. He said the landline rang first and no one was there, but he thought he heard breathing. Then my cell rang and it was the same thing. But there was no number, it just said _Unknown Caller_."

"Did the caller say anything the second time?" Mac asked.

"Danny said that the caller knew his name," she said, her eyes filling with tears once more. "I heard him yelling into the phone that he wanted the prank calls to stop, or Danny would make whoever it was regret it."

"Danny told me that they guy threatened him, and that's why he wanted the phone records checked," Adam looked around at the shocked faces staring back at him. "He... he said that they guy laughed at him, then told him that he'd be seeing Danny soon."

"Fuck! Who is this freak?" Flack exclaimed, slamming his hand down on the table.

* * *

Danny let out a strangled moan. His throat hurt like a son of a bitch. He tried to open his eyes, but they were wollen almost completely shut, and he could only make out vague shapes in the room around him. He heard a steady beeping coming from somewhere beside him. _Where was he_? He struggled to sit up, but found that he was restrained, he could feel the rough bindings rubbing against his wrists.

He struggled for a moment, but quickly gave up when he found that he was unable to catch his breath, his lungs rasping with the effort. He heard movement from the other side of the room, and what sounded like footsteps coming toward him.

"Ah, you're awake! I was getting worried, Messer."

Danny recognized the voice, both from the courtyard, and from their brief conversation on the phone earlier that day. He tried to speak, but his swollen tongue would only allow him to utter a string of mumbled profanities.

"Oh, now is that any way to thank the person that saved your life?" the faceless voice chuckled ominously. "You're very ungrateful, you know. It's very rude. And I just... I can't tolerate rudeness, Messer."

Danny's heart started to beat rapidly in his chest, and strangely, the beeping in the room seemed to speed up at the same time. He turned his head and opened his eyes as wide as he could and was shocked to see that he was hooked up to what appeared to be a heart monitor, albeit a much older model than he was used to seeing in hospitals these days. _Where the fuck was he_?

He heard another chuckle coming from the other side of him, and he slowly turned his head, trying to get a look at his surroundings, as well as the face of the man who had captured him. He had a vague memory of a face staring back at him in the courtyard, but he had been so focused on keeping himself breathing, that he hadn't paid attention.

He squinted, trying to focus his eyes on the face in front of him. "I can see the wheels turning, Messer. It's driving you crazy, isn't it? Well let me help you out." As Danny's eyes adjusted, the man leaned forward, allowing Danny to get a good look at his face.

* * *

"We got it, Mac!" Adam said, running down the hall toward Mac's office, a piece of paper clutched in his hand. "We got a match!"

Mac, Lindsay and Flack had been sitting in Mac's office, going over Lindsay and Danny's old case files, trying to see if there were any leads - anyone that might have had a grudge against Danny, or anyone that paid unnaturally close attention to Lindsay.

At the sound of Adam shouting in the hallway, their heads snapped up. They turned to the door as Adam barrelled into the office, breathless. "We got a match!" he panted.

"Who is it?" Flack asked, standing up and grabbing the paper from Adam. "What the fuck? Who the hell is this guy?"

Lindsay stood up, silently taking the paper from Flack's hand and staring down at the picture of the man who's fingerprint had been found on the inside of Danny's sandwich wrapper. A place it had no business being.

Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Flack looked down at her, then back up to Mac, shrugging his shoulders. "Linds?" he said tentatively. "Do you know him?"

She silently nodded her head.

**

* * *

**

Oh, snap! Another cliffie? Am I really that evil?

***thinks* **

**Yes. Yes I am! Mwa ha ha!**

**I am sorry. I really am... Well, I'm a little bit sorry. But I just couldn't resist. I've given you a lot of info in this chapter, I can't give away the farm yet, can I? Gotta leave you begging for more!**

**All will be answered soon, fear not, my friends.**

**I'd love to hear from you... let me know what you thought!**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: So, after reading your reviews (thank you so very very much, by the way!) I'm getting the feeling that you would all like to find out who exactly is behind this whole thing. Am I right? No? Oh, well then. I guess I'll just write another filler chapter and keep you all guessing for another few days...**

**Just kidding! You know I love to tease, but I'm about to burst from keeping all these juicy details for myself! Do you know how hard it has been for me, not being able to tell anyone? It's been torture! So I hope you get some small satisfaction from the suffering I've been going through these past few weeks.**

**So, as you may have gathered from this Author's Note, I just can't bear to keep it all to my onesies any longer. So, without further ado, Chapter 12... the big reveal.**

**Note: The text in italics indicates a flashback... I know, I know. Thanks Captain Obvious... but I just want to make sure there's no confusion ;)**

* * *

Lindsay stared down at the paper clutched tightly in her hand. She knew that face. She hadn't seen him in years, and she hadn't really given him a second thought the last time she'd seen him. He was innocuous, he blended into the background. His was a face that you barely noticed. And yet here he was, staring back at her from the paper.

David Shorewood.

"Linds? Do you know him?"

Flack's voice barely registered in her mind, her thoughts far away, casting back six years ago to the last time she had seen him.

_He had been sitting in the interrogation room, looking nervous and miserable. He'd been accused of brutally murdering his wife and her lover. Lindsay had gazed at him through the two way mirror, tapping the case file against the palm of her hand as she thought. _

_"He looks so timid," she said, turning to Danny who was standing beside her._

_"Yeah, it's always the quiet ones, though, Montana," Danny said, giving her a lopsided grin. _

_Lindsay rolled her eyes at her partner. He was such a pest, and so immature. She couldn't understand how someone like him had wound up in the prestigious position of working for Mac Taylor at the New York Crime Lab. And what was up with the whole Montana thing? Did he really think that she didn't know where she came from? That he had to remind her every single goddamn day?_

_"Shut up, Messer," she said, trying to ignore the smirk on his face and pushing past him. She walked out of into the hallway and let herself into the interrogation room. She sat down across the table from the suspect, pushing the case file into the middle of the table and flipping it open. He quickly glanced down at the gory crime scene photos inside, before cringing and looking away._

_"I didn't do that," he said flatly, keeping his eyes averted to the floor._

_"Yeah, well I kind of think that you did," Lindsay said, leaning forward, her elbows resting on the table. "Now's your chance to convince me otherwise."_

_Shorewood looked up at her, his small beady eyes were guarded, and Lindsay was having a hard time reading him. "I'm not a violent man, Ms. Monroe," he said._

_"Detective," Lindsay corrected him. "It's Detective Monroe."_

_"Right, yes. I... I'm sorry, detective," Shorewood said. He reached forward and flipped the case file closed so that he wouldn't have to stare at the bloody images. _

_"No problem," Lindsay said, pulling the case file back toward her. "So, you were saying? You're not a violent man?"_

_He shook his head. "No... no, I'm not. I just... I loathe violence Ms... I mean Detective Monroe. I'm in the business of helping people. Not hurting them. I could never do... that." _

"_You really expect me to believe that? In your statement, you practically admitted to it, Mr. Shorewood."_

_"No! No, I didn't!" he protested. "You're twisting my words around, detective. They were dead when I got home."_

_Lindsay delicately raised an eyebrow at the man sitting across from her. He was fidgeting, he was stuttering, he was looking anywhere but at her, and he was contradicting himself. And in the pit of her stomach, Lindsay knew - she just knew - that he was guilty. _

"Linds? Earth to Lindsay! Are you there?"

"What?" Lindsay snapped out of her thoughts.

Flack gently placed his hand on her arm, leading her over and sitting her down. "You okay, Lindsay? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Lindsay shook her head. "No... it's just that, well, this isn't who I expected. That's all."

Every head in the room snapped up and stared at her.

"What do you mean, this isn't who you expected?" Mac asked. "Are you saying that you thought that something like this was going to happen?"

"No! No, that's not what I meant," Lindsay tried to explain. She put her head in her hands and let out a deep sigh. "I just... when I saw that it was from someone calling himself _D_, and I found out it wasn't from Danny, well... "

"You're mind focused on someone who's name began with the letter D - someone who might have a reason to want to hurt you," Stella finished Lindsay's thought.

"Exactly," Lindsay said. "I've been wracking my brains since we got the first note, and I couldn't think of anyone, except one person."

"Um... I'm sorry," Adam interjected. "I... I'm confused. Who are you guys talking about?"

"Daniel Cadence," Lindsay said.

"Who?" Hawkes asked.

"Daniel Cadence," Lindsay said again. "He's... he's the man who murdered my friends in the diner when I was just a teenager. He's the one that I had to testify against when I went back to Montana. I thought it was him, that maybe he'd gotten out of prison and no one had told me."

"I checked into that too, Lindsay," Mac said. "When you and Danny first told me about the notes, he was the first person I checked into, thinking that he would be the most likely suspect. But he's still safely locked away in a maximum security prison back in Montana. And he's not getting out any time soon."

Lindsay gave her boss a weary smile. "Thanks, Mac," she said. "That makes me feel a little better..."

"But?" Stella prompted her.

"But... it bothers me. This David Shorewood. Why would he want to hurt me? If anything, he should be thanking me. I just... I don't understand."

* * *

Danny gazed up through his swollen eyes at his captor. He was exactly the kind of person that you saw every day, but never really noticed. He had limp sandy blond hair, beady grey eyes, and a non-descript face. And he looked exactly the same as he had all those years ago when he and Lindsay had worked his case.

_He watched Lindsay through the two-way mirror, carefully observing the way that she interacted with the suspect. He hated to admit it, but the little country girl was good. She had balls. The guy was helpless against her, as she cleverly manipulated the conversation, looking for tell-tale signs of guilt. _

_David Shorewood. What a creep. He'd been arrested that morning, after a neighbour had complained of a disturbance in the apartment he shared with his wife. The police had shown up and found Shorewood covered in the blood of his wife and her lover, who he'd interrupted when he came home from work unexpectedly after losing his job. He had cried and plead his innocence, begging them to let him go. _

_After Danny and Lindsay had processed the scene, they had been absolutely assured of his guilt, confident that they had everything they would need to get a conviction against the sick bastard._

_They had each wanted a crack at him in the interrogation room, but had agreed that he might get jumpy and be unwilling to cooperate if both of them went in. So they had flipped a coin, Lindsay crowing with delight as the coin landed heads-up, making her the clear winner. _

_"Yeah, laugh it up, Montana," Danny had pouted. "You'll be coming out here asking me to finish up for you in five minutes."_

_"Oh yeah?" Lindsay challenged him. "You wanna bet, Messer?"_

_"Nah, I'd feel bad taking money from a girl," Danny had said, smirking at her._

_"Pig," Lindsay muttered at him as they had walked together down to interrogation._

_"You love it," Danny had teased her._

_"Oh, grow up, Messer," Lindsay had spat back at him before stomping ahead of him into the observation room, slamming the door in his face._

_"Whoa, there, Mess," Danny heard a voice over his shoulder. "Monroe giving you a hard time? You getting picked on my a girl?" Flack walked up beside him, giving him a wink._

_"Nothing I can't handle," Danny replied, smirking back at his friend as he opened the door and entered the observation room to find Lindsay staring through the glass, tapping the file folder against the palm of her hand._

"You recognize me now, don't you Messer?"

Danny wanted to smack the smug grin off the face of the man looming over him. What the fuck? What did this asshole have against him? Against Lindsay? Danny could feel the confusion inside of him slowly converting to rage at the injustice of it all. He could hear the beep of the heart monitor pick up its pace as his heart started to race in his chest.

"Now, now, Messer," Shorewood said, smiling serenely down at Danny, "We don't want you to get yourself all worked up, now do we? That would never do."

Shorewood leaned over and turned a dial on the IV drip that was hanging on the wall beside the bed, and Danny watched in horror as a clear liquid slowly snaked down the tube from the IV bag, inching toward the needle stuck into the back of his hand. He struggled against his restraints. He didn't know what was in that IV, but he sure as hell didn't want any of it in his body.

"If you struggle, you'll only make it worse," Shorewood whispered, and Danny looked up to see the man's face looming alarmingly close to his own, a look of manic glee in his eyes. Danny moaned, his still swollen tongue and painful throat rendering him unable to form any words or call for help. Not that it would have done him any good. He doubted that there was anyone close enough to hear him. He tugged on his restraints again, kicking out against the bed, trying to test the limits of the bonds that held him down.

Suddenly his head was knocked sideways as he felt Shorewood's fist connect with his jaw. He could taste blood in his mouth, and the side of his face now tingled painfully. He moved to open his mouth and he winced in pain as he heard his jaw click loudly in his ears. Shorewood leaned down so that his face was hovering mere inches above Danny's.

"I warned you, Messer," he said quietly. "If you struggle, it will get worse. If you'd care for me to elaborate, I will. But you won't like it." Danny could smell the man's foul breath on his face, and he had to control the overwhelming urge to turn away. But he couldn't give this asshole the satisfaction. He stared right back at Shorewood, fighting the urge to vomit at the nauseating mixture of the blood in his mouth and the stench from Shorewood's breath.

As he glared back at Shorewood, Danny began to feel like he was floating, the room seeming to lurch around him. The edges of his vision began to lose focus and his eyelids became unnaturally heavy. Glancing down, Danny realized that whatever it was that had been in the IV was now working it's way through his system, and he was slowly losing consciousness once more.

* * *

"The file says that he used to be a nurse in a psychiatric hospital," Adam said, picking up the information sheet from the conference room table, where the team had gathered to go over the old case file, digging into David Shorewood's past.

"That's right," Flack said. "I remember that guy. I remember Danny telling me about him, back when you two were working his case. Said he was a real piece of work. Totally schizo."

"He lost his job that morning," Adam read from the file. "He was sent home early because the hospital found out that he was running tests on patients, trying out new procedures on them... things that he claimed would _cure _them of their mental afflictions."

"So, he gets home after finding out that he's lost his job and that he's probably going to be under investigation by the hospital, only to find his wife in bed with her twenty-something boy toy," Hawkes said, shaking his head. "Man. That could cause a guy to snap, if he wasn't already unbalanced to begin with."

"Wait, what did you say?" Lindsay asked, looking up at Hawkes from where she had been sitting at the far end of the table, lost in thought.

"What did I say about what?" Hawkes asked.

"About his wife's lover. What did you call him?" she asked.

"Linds, I was just joking," Hawkes said.

Lindsay shook her head. "No, it's important. What did you say?"

"I called him her boy toy," he said, cocking his head to the side, wondering where Lindsay was going with this.

"Is that the phrase that he used?" Lindsay asked. "In his statement, I mean. What did he call the lover?"

Adam flipped through the file until he came to the page containing the suspect's statement. He read out loud from the transcript.

"I walked through the front door, and I could hear them in the bedroom. I walked through the apartment and I saw them. They were fucking like animals, they were filthy. That lying, cheating bitch and her man whore..."

"Oh my God!" Stella exclaimed. She reached across the table to the file that contained all the information they had gathered regarding Danny's disappearance, the anonymous notes, and the video of Danny and Lindsay. She quickly sorted through the contents of the file until she came upon the note that had been found in Lindsay's locker. She skimmed her eyes down the page, pausing to read a section out loud.

"After all we have been through together, I find out now that you are nothing more than a lying, cheating bitch. And now everyone knows the kind of filth you engage in with your man whore."

"Um... okay. I don't get it," Adam said. "What is going on here? What does that mean?"

"It means that somehow, in David Shorewood's twisted mind, he believes that he has some sort of relationship with Lindsay," Mac said, taking the note from Stella and re-reading it in it's entirety. "He alludes to them having been through a lot together, which indicates that he feels a strong bond to her, and that he felt betrayed when he saw her with Danny."

"That is fucked up," Flack said bluntly.

Mac returned the note to Danny's file and picked up the stack of papers relating to David Shorewood. "Lindsay, why did you say that he shouldn't be mad at you? That he should be thanking you?"

Lindsay ran her hands through her hair, taking a shaky breath before she spoke.

"Because I'm the reason he was set free," she whispered.

**

* * *

**

*Peeks out from under the bed*

**Okay, so I feel the need to explain myself a little here. **

**I know that a lot of you thought that the man behind this was Daniel Cadence, and I hope that you're not disappointed that I chose not to use him. He was a bit of a red herring, and I was delighted that my diversion seemed to be working. But I never intended for him to be the baddie in this story, as I wanted to try my hand at creating a villain of my own.**

**So, thank you all for bearing with me and being so patient. There is a lot more back story to come, so please stay tuned! And I would absolutely love to hear about your reactions to this chapter. Please leave a review!**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey! Me again! I would like to start by once again saying thank you all once again for your encouraging reviews!**

**So, you're probably wondering where I've been, and why there has been a lack of updates. Well, the past few days have been very, very busy for me, and I haven't had a lot of time to sit down and write. It was a combination of work and helping my sister move. Plus, it was my birthday on Saturday, and my friends and family had a very busy weekend planned for me (and it didn't include leaving me time to write ;) - not that I'm complaining!)**

**So, I have been stealing a few minutes here and there to put together this chapter, which I hope will be worth the wait! **

**I apologize in advance, as I am fully aware of the fact that I have taken a few liberties with the United States legal system in this chapter. I hope that you can overlook any glaring errors here. As you may or may not know, I'm Canadian, and our legal system differs from that of the US, so a lot of my knowledge came from a little bit of research on the internet, as well as a lifetime of watching Law & Order and maybe an episode or two of Matlock (please don't judge me!). Any errors on my part are purely accidental.**

**That being said, I'll let you get on with Chapter 13!**

* * *

"What do you mean, it's your fault he was set free?" Mac asked.

Lindsay looked up at her boss, her eyes full of worry and remorse. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, lowering her gaze to her hands which were folded in her lap.

"I... um, I made a mistake," she whispered.

"Go on, Lindsay," Stella urged her friend, giving her an encouraging smile. "It's okay. No one's judging you here."

Lindsay sighed, thinking back to that fateful day.

_"Detective Monroe, could you please tell the court how you and your partner, Detective Messer, came to the conclusion that my client, Mr. David Shorewood, was guilty of the heinous crime of murdering his wife and her friend?"_

_Lindsay stared confidently back at the defence attorney, who was pacing back and forth in front of the witness box where Lindsay was currently seated. She took a deep breath, then began to explain._

_"Detective Messer and I were called to process the scene of the murder. Mrs. Shorewood and her... friend, as you called him, had both been stabbed repeatedly while lying in Mrs. Shorewood's bed," she said. "The first officers to the scene had explained to us that they had received a call from a neighbour who reported a domestic disturbance, and when the police arrived, they found Mr. Shorewood sitting at the foot of the bed, holding a knife in his hands. Both Mr. Shorewood and the knife were covered in blood and when Detective Messer and I arrived, Mr. Shorewood was ranting about how he had found his wife and her lover in bed and he had taken it upon himself to stop them."_

_"Your honour," the attorney said, turning to face the judge, "I wish to have the last statement stricken from the record, as the use of the word 'ranting' to describe my client's behaviour has disparaging connotations that could negatively influence the jury."_

_Lindsay held her breath as she watched the judge consider the request. "Sustained." Lindsay felt her heart sink at the judge's words. "The jury is to disregard the previous statement made by Detective Monroe. And the witness will refrain from using language that could be seen as leading the jury to develop a negative impression of the defendant."_

_Lindsay cringed. It was her first big case since joining the crime lab in New York, and she had already messed it up after only a few words. She wanted a giant hole to open up and swallow her, but she knew that she had to proceed with the evidence she and Danny had gathered. Evidence that was now more important than ever, after having her initial comments stricken from the court records. She looked nervously over at the judge, nodding her head. "Yes, your honour," she said, her voice wavering as her nervousness increased._

_"Please proceed, Mr. Edwards," the judge said, nodding at Shorewood's attorney. He turned back to Lindsay, his lips curled in a smug smile. _

"_Now, Detective Monroe, please enlighten us. What evidence did you find of my client's guilt when you and your partner were investigating the crime scene?"_

_Lindsay took yet another deep breath, collecting her thoughts. She had to keep it together. She couldn't let this guy get to her, with his sneaky lawyer tricks and his smug smile. "Detective Messer was assigned to examine the blood spatter as well as any trace evidence pulled from the bodies of the victims and the scene. I was to process Mr. Shorewood and the murder weapon..."_

"_Alleged murder weapon, if you please, Detective," Edwards said._

"_Yes, alright. The alleged murder weapon," Lindsay said, feeling a sense of anger begin to bubble down in her stomach at the way Edwards was speaking to her. She was an experienced field investigator, for crying out loud. Not some rookie kid who didn't know what she was doing at a scene. She squared her shoulders, looking back at the lawyer defiantly._

"_I was able to swab samples from Mr. Shorewood's hands, as well as his clothing. The samples were processed back at the lab and found to be a match to both Mrs. Shorewood and her lover," she said. "I processed the knife and again, the blood samples were a match to both victims. I also found blood from Mr. Shorewood himself on the end of the blade, closest to the handle, indicating that he had cut himself while in the act of stabbing, most likely due to his hand slipping on the handle."_

"_I see," said Edwards, who had resumed his pacing in front of the witness box. He had his hands clasped behind his back as he paced back and forth. Lindsay wished that he would just stand still for a moment, and stop trying to distract her with his constant movements. "And did you find any other evidence on this knife?" he asked. "Anything that could be considered damning evidence to my client?"_

_Lindsay nodded her head. "Yes. I found fingerprints on the knife belonging to Mr. Shorewood. There were prints both in the blood, as well as latent prints that were on the handle of the knife, underneath the blood."_

"_And what did you discern from these fingerprints, Detective?"_

"_Well the prints underneath the blood, directly on the handle, indicate that Mr. Shorewood had handled the knife before there was blood on it..."_

"_Let me stop you right there, Detective," the lawyer interrupted her, holding up his hand to silence her. "Who did the knife belong to?"_

"_Well, after examining the Shorewood's apartment, we discovered that they had a matching set of knives in the kitchen. But one was missing from the set, and we surmised that the alleged murder weapon belonged to that set."_

"_So, the knives belonged to the Shorewood's?" Edwards asked. Lindsay nodded her head in agreement._

"_Yes. That is the conclusion that we came to," she said._

"_So, it stands to reason that the defendant's fingerprints would be on the handle of the knife, seeing as it belonged to him and was part of a set that was used by both himself and Mrs. Shorewood."_

_Lindsay knew that the lawyer was trying to shake her, but she had prepared for this possible line of questioning. "Yes, that would be a fair assumption," she said, "Except for the fact that the fingerprints on the handle did not match up to the way one would hold a knife if it were being used to chop ingredients in the kitchen. The prints indicated that the knife was being held like this," Lindsay demonstrated with her hands, "Which, I'm sure you can see, would be fairly useless for the preparation of food."_

"_Hmm. Interesting," Edwards replied. Lindsay felt a wave of nerves well up inside her at the expression on the attorney's face. He was up to something, but she just couldn't figure out what it was. "Detective Monroe," he said, "Where is this weapon now?"_

_Lindsay's eyebrows shot up at the question. Where the hell did this moron think that the weapon was? "Well, Mr. Edwards, I would assume that the knife is in the evidence locker back at the crime lab, along with the other evidence gathered for this case."_

_The lawyer gave her a sly smile. "It's interesting that you should say that, Detective," he said. "Because my office requested to see all of the evidence gathered by yourself and Detective Messer at the Shorewood's apartment. Imagine my surprise when we discovered that the alleged murder weapon was not among the items listed in the case file."_

_Wild panic surged through Lindsay's body. What? How could that be? She had labelled that item herself and set it aside to be packed up and placed in the evidence locker along with everything else from the case._

"_I... I..." she stammered, her mind racing. _

"_Please, take your time, detective," Edwards sneered at her._

_Lindsay looked out into the crowd, searching the faces there for an answer. For something, anything that might shed some light on to what had happened to the weapon. Her eyes came to rest on Danny's face. He was pale and his eyes were wide with shock, his mouth gaping open at the revelation from the defence attorney. She looked at him, hoping that he would be able to offer some answer for her, but he only shook his head, indicating that he had no more idea than she had as to how this had happened._

_Lindsay looked back at the lawyer who was standing in front of her, his arms crossed across his chest, his foot tapping out an impatient beat on the floor. "Well?" he asked._

"_I... I'm sorry," she whispered. "I don't know."_

"_Hmm. Interesting," he said, moving back to the defence table and shuffling through a stack of papers. He plucked one from the stack, holding it up to her._

"_Detective Monroe, is this your handwriting?" he asked, walking toward her and handing her a piece of paper._

_Lindsay took the offered paper. She looked down at a photocopy of an evidence tag. It was most definitely her handwriting. There was a case number in the upper left-hand corner, and the name 'Shorewood, David' written beside it. Lindsay's heart sank as she realized that she had mistakenly reversed two of the digits in the case number. She closed her eyes and laid the paper down on the edge of the witness box._

"_Detective? I asked you a question," Edwards's voice pierced through her thoughts. "Is that your handwriting?"_

"_Yes," she whispered, a large lump growing in her throat._

"_And could you please tell the court if there is something... wrong with the document you are holding in your hands?"_

_Lindsay swallowed, trying to rid herself of the uncomfortable tightness in her throat. "The... the case number is wrong," she managed to choke out._

"_Really?" Edwards replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Now, how do you suppose that happened?" he asked._

_Lindsay shook her head. She could feel hot tears stinging behind her eyes. She took a shaky breath, willing herself not to break down on the stand. "It... it looks like I copied the case number incorrectly," she said, her voice wavering with the weight of what this small error meant for their case._

"_Ah. And do you know where it was that my office found this particular item?" the lawyer asked._

"_No, I don't."_

"_Oh, please, Detective," he said, wagging a finger at her as if she were a naughty child. "Don't play coy with me. I found this, the alleged murder weapon, mixed in with the evidence for another case."_

_Lindsay closed her eyes. She felt her bottom lip begin to tremble as he turned to the judge and continued._

"_Your honour, in light of this information, I request that the court declare a mistrial. It is my client's constitutional right to a fair trial. And that right has been made a mockery of by the gross negligence of the New York Crime Lab, and the mishandling of integral evidence in this case."_

_Lindsay opened her eyes, turning her head slightly to watch the judge as he pondered the lawyer's request. Her heart sank down into her feet as he nodded his head. "Sustained."_

"Oh, Lindsay," Stella's voice brought Lindsay back to the present as she felt hot tears streaming down her face as her memories flooded her mind.

Lindsay opened her eyes to see the faces of her friends and colleagues staring back at her. She looked to Stella, who placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, kiddo," she said. "We've all been there. You're only human, Lindsay."

Lindsay shook her head, burying her face in her hands. "It was such a stupid mistake, Stella," she cried. "It was two numbers... two numbers in the wrong order and David Shorewood went free. All because of me."

"What happened, Lindsay?" Mac asked, pulling a chair over and sitting down across from her, his elbows resting on his knees, and his hands clasped together.

She looked up at him. "I don't know," she said. "I was nervous, it was my first big case, and I was stressing out trying to make sure that everything was perfect... that we nailed the bastard for what he did. And because I stopped paying attention for a fraction of a second, he walked."

"I remember that case, Lindsay," Mac said. "Although I didn't put two and two together until now... that we are dealing with the same person now as we were back then."

"I'm so sorry, Mac," Lindsay whispered, wiping at her eyes with the back of her hands. "I... I let you down, I let everyone down."

Mac shook his head, leaning forward and gently squeezing her knee. "You didn't let us down, Lindsay," he said. "Like Stella pointed out, we're not machines. We're human. And we've all made mistakes - some more costly than others."

Lindsay looked up at him, her expression searching. "There's something I've always wondered, Mac," she said. "How come I never really got disciplined for what happened? I mean, you talked to me about it, but it was a pretty big mistake, and all I got was a slap on the wrist. Why?"

Mac looked down at his hands, thinking carefully about what to tell Lindsay.

"_Danny, can you come in here for a minute?" Mac called out as he saw Danny walking past his office._

"_Sure thing, boss," Danny replied, entering the office and shutting the door behind him. "What's up?"_

"_I heard about the trial today," Mac said. "About Lindsay's... error."_

"_Yeah, Mac," he started, "About that..."_

"_Danny, you've worked with Lindsay more than anyone else since she started here. I need to know... is this a one-time mistake, or is she this careless with all of the evidence she handles?"_

_Mac watched Danny carefully as he contemplated the question, his gaze drifting to the floor while he thought. Finally, he raised his head, staring Mac squarely in the face._

"_It was my fault, Mac," he said firmly. "I distracted her. I should have left her alone to finish up tagging the evidence, but I wanted to get finished up and get home, so I was rushing her. That's why she made the mistake. She's extremely careful, Mac. Very diligent. This whole thing was down to me being an ass to her, causing her to lose her focus."_

_Mac leaned back in his chair, one eyebrow raised as he considered what Danny had told him. He had noticed a slightly adversarial relationship between the two, but he had thought that it was all in fun, that it was more harmless flirting than any serious animosity between them. But if what Danny was telling him was true, then maybe he would have to rethink keeping them as partners, if they couldn't put their differences aside and work together instead of against one another._

"_Danny, did you purposefully antagonize Lindsay?" he asked._

_Danny shook his head. "No, Mac," he said. "I was only teasing, but maybe I pushed it too far, she got frustrated and Boom. Lost her concentration. I mean, it wasn't a huge mistake, Mac. It could have happened to anybody."_

"_It wasn't a huge mistake, Danny," Mac agreed, "But it had huge consequences. Because of that error, a guilty man went free today. I can't have that happen, not in my lab. Incidents like this compromise the integrity of every piece of evidence that comes through here. You are suspended for one week without pay, Danny. And when you come back, I will have you reassigned to another partner until both you and Lindsay can prove to me that you are mature and responsible enough to be able to work together without detrimentally affecting your casework."_

"_What about Monroe?" Danny asked, looking up at Mac._

_Mac was taken aback by the question. These two could barely stand one another, so why should Danny care what the consequences would be for Lindsay?_

"_Lindsay will be placed on modified assignment for the same week that you are suspended," he explained. "And when you come back, you will both be working with other partners until I'm satisfied that you have worked through whatever issues it is that you have with one another."_

_Danny looked at Mac for a moment before nodding his head. "Okay. We done here?" he asked._

_Mac simply nodded his head, turning his attention back to the paperwork on his desk. "Yes. We're done," he said. "And Danny?"_

"_Yeah, Mac," Danny said, stopping in mid-stride on his way to the door. _

"_Send Lindsay in to see me please," he said._

"_Sure thing, boss," Danny said, pulling the door open and walking down the hallway._

Mac looked up at Lindsay, whose eyes were wide with astonishment.

"Danny... he... he..."

"He took the blame for you, Lindsay," Mac said quietly.

Lindsay's face crumpled and she turned to bury her face into the shoulder of Stella, who had sat down beside her.

"I never knew," she sobbed into the collar of Stella's blouse. She felt Stella's arms around her as she allowed herself too sink into her sadness. A sadness that was all the more poignant now, knowing what Danny had done for her, long before either of them had really realized their feelings for one another. She was truly touched, but now the possibility of losing him to this maniac hurt her all the more.

* * *

"Detective Messer. Time to rise and shine!"

The sing-songy voice cut through the darkness, causing Danny's already pounding headache to throb even more painfully. He felt like his head was in a vice, something squeezing the sides of his head. He cracked open his eyes and saw the face of David Shorewood peering down at him. He tried to move his head to look around him, but found that he was unable to move, as something was indeed keeping his head immobile.

"Ah, you're finally awake!" Shorewood exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in glee. "I was worried that you were going to sleep through this, and I would hate that. It would make what we're about to do far less... effective."

Danny was already on edge, being in the presence of someone that he knew was both dangerous and unbalanced. But at Shorewood's words, his heart started to thud loudly in his chest. He listened, but he no longer heard the steady beep of the heart monitor echoing his heart's rhythm.

"In case you're wondering, I've disconnected the heart monitor," Shorewood said, turning away from Danny and moving to a table set up beside the bed where he was lying, his arms and legs still restrained, along with his head. "I find the constant beeping to be distracting when I'm working. And I need to keep my concentration. Wouldn't want me to make a mistake now, would you?"

"What the fuck do you want?" Danny croaked out, his throat burning painfully as he spoke.

"What do I want?" Shorewood asked. "Oh, Detective, really. And here I thought you were so much smarter than that. Isn't it painfully obvious? I want what belongs to me."

"I don't have anything that belongs to you, you fucking psycho."

"Ah, now that's where you're wrong, Messer," Shorewood said. Danny heard the distinct clink of metal on metal as Shorewood was moving things around on the table beside the bed. "You have something that very much belongs to me. Or should I say someone. And I want her back."

Danny felt his stomach lurch as he realized what Shorewood was talking about. He knew from the notes that had been left for Lindsay that this freak had some sort of maladjusted feelings toward her, but Danny hadn't realized how truly obsessed Shorewood really was.

"She doesn't belong to you," he rasped. "She never did. She probably doesn't even know who you are."

"That's a goddamn lie, Messer!" Shorewood shrieked at him, turning around and facing Danny, his face a mask of pure rage and loathing. He leaned forward so that his breath once again stifled Danny's senses as he spoke. "She's mine. She loves me, I know it and so does she," he hissed at Danny. "Otherwise why would she have done what she did? Why would she have let me go? She's too smart for that. She risked her career to set me free. And it's time that I repaid the favour."

"What are you going to do?" Danny asked, his voice shaking as he realized that Shorewood was holding something in his hand. Something that looked dangerous and unpleasant.

"First thing's first," Shorewood said, sneering viciously down at Danny. "You clearly brainwashed her, making her think that she loved you. Making her do all those... those filthy things with you. You're depraved, Messer. A maniac, obsessed with sex. And forcing yourself on her like that... it makes me sick to think of it. Of how you used her to satisfy your own disgusting needs."

Danny's eyes widened in panic as Shorewood raised two electrodes, moving them closer to Danny's head, a wicked smile on his face and a malicious glint in his eye.

"During my time working with various mental hospitals, I was able to hone my skills at curing various patients of their obsessive behaviours, including those who had an unhealthy obsession with sex," he said, attaching the electrodes to Danny's temples.

"I'm going to cure you, Detective Messer." Then he turned away from the table and flicked a small switch on the wall beside the bed.

"You can thank me later," he said, grinning as he watched Danny's body convulse on the bed before him.

**

* * *

**

If my words are muffled, it's because I'm hiding.

Why am I hiding? For two reasons: 1) Because I didn't update for a few days, and 2) Because I'm being truly horrible to both Danny and Lindsay (especially Danny). So, I'll hide here until I know it's safe to come out.

Please review... and don't hurt me *closes eyes and waits for the pummelling to begin*


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: *Breathes a sigh of relief***

**Thank you for not pummelling me. I appreciate it. I like having all my limbs intact - it makes it much easier to write! ;) And thank you for the wonderful reviews! It's good to know there are a few others out there who have gleamed their knowledge of the US legal system from Law & Order as well, and that I'm not the only one. :P**

**So, clearly Shorewood is deranged. We've got that cleared up. But there are still a few unanswered questions that I (hopefully) intend to answer in this chapter. We also catch a glimpse into how Lindsay is dealing with everything that's happening, and Stella and Flack both try to offer her some support, with varying degrees of success.**

**I now present to you... Chapter 14**

* * *

Adam Ross hung up the phone and dashed out of the lab, heading down the hall toward Mac's office. Seeing Mac sitting behind his desk talking to Flack, Adam knocked on the door before pushing it open and stepping in the room.

"Hey, Mac," he said. "Where is everyone? I've got some information that I think they might want to hear."

Mac waved Adam over to the desk. "I asked Stella to take Lindsay out and get her something to eat, help her calm down. She's trying to hide it, but she's pretty upset about everything that's going on here, and I think she needed a little time away to help collect her thoughts."

"Oh, okay."

"What is it Adam?" Mac asked.

"Oh, yeah. Well, you know how we were all wondering where Shorewood's been for the past six years, and how he got access to the building? How he managed to deliver his notes to Lindsay without anyone noticing?"

Mac nodded his head, and Adam pressed on. "Well, I did some digging and I found out that after his trial..."

Flack scoffed. "Yeah, what trial? That's a fucking joke. Goddamn lawyers," he said, rolling his eyes.

"Um, yeah. Anyway," Adam said, "I checked and found out that after the trial, he was arrested a month later for conducting more of his experiments on some homeless people in his neighbourhood. Apparently he was trying to cure them of their _inability to perform useful roles in society. _His words, not mine."

Mac raised his eyebrows. "Really? That's interesting," he said. "What happened to him after that?"

Adam looked down at the notes he had scribbled on the scrap of paper in his hand. "Um, so he was convicted and sentenced to 10 years at a mental facility, where he underwent treatment for Narcissistic Personality Disorder."

"10 years?" Flack asked. "So why the hell is he out now?"

Adam shrugged his shoulders. "No one at the hospital was really talking, but apparently he was an exemplary patient, and his sentence was reduced for... for good behaviour." He looked at the two shocked faces staring back at him. "Basically, they said he was cured."

"Hmph," Flack huffed. "Fucking joke. The guys is obviously Looney Tunes. Bunch of fucking quacks probably didn't want to deal with his crazy ass anymore."

Adam looked over at Mac before continuing. "I talked to someone at the hospital, and they said that when he was released, he was assigned to a parole officer, who was supposed to supervise his return to normal society."

"And did you talk to this parole officer?" Mac asked.

Adam nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah, I just got off the phone with him. He said that Shorewood was part of a return-to-work program, where inmates were helped to find gainful employment in an attempt to re-integrate them back into society."

"Why do I get the feeling that you're about to drop a bomb on us, Adam?" Flack asked, leaning forward in his chair with his elbows on his knees.

"Guess where he was assigned to work?" Adam asked. Mac and Flack both shook their heads.

"Just tell us, Adam. We don't have time for guessing games," Mac said.

"Yeah, right. Um, okay. Sorry boss," Adam stammered. "Um, so he... he was assigned to the mail room in our building."

"What?" Flack exclaimed, sitting up straight in his chair, his eyes wide with surprise.

"I know," Adam said, nodding his head. "Crazy, right? He's been here almost every day for the past month, and we've all probably passed him in the hall like a hundred times! I mean, who notices the guy from the mail room? We see him pushing the mail cart and never give him another thought."

"He would have access to every office, every lab, every room in the building," Mac said, shaking his head in disbelief. "You're right Adam. We would have all seen him, and not even thought twice about him going in and out of Lindsay's office... It's perfect."

"Yeah, but how would he not notice that the plaque on Lindsay's door clearly says _Detective L. Messer_?" Flack asked. "I mean, yeah the guy's a psycho, but he can read, right?"

Mac shook his head slowly, thinking. "One of the symptoms of Narcissistic Personality Disorder is the inability to accept information that doesn't fit into the universe that he has created for himself," Mac explained. "He may have read _Messer _on the door, but in his mind, it still said _Monroe_."

"What I tell you, Adam," Flack said. "Fucking Looney Tunes."

* * *

Lindsay gave a small smile to the waitress as she refilled Lindsay's coffee cup. She and Stella were sitting in the coffee shop just across the street from the lab. Mac had been right, Lindsay had needed a change of scenery, a chance to take a breath after all the information that had been thrown at her over the past few hours. And a chance to really stop and process her thoughts and feelings.

She held the warm cup between her hands, staring into the dark liquid.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Stella asked her, interrupting her silent contemplation.

Lindsay looked up at her friend, who was staring back at her with concern in her eyes. She realized that her hands had begun to shake, and she quickly set the cup down on the table and moved her hands down to her lap. Her bottom lip began to quiver, and she felt her eyes begin to prickle as more tears began to form in her eyes.

"Shit," she said, reaching up and wiping her eyes with an unsteady hand. She smiled wanly at Stella, who handed her a napkin. "You'd think after these past two days I would have run out of tears by now." She forced a laugh as she gently dabbed at her eyes with the napkin.

"Oh, honey," Stella said, reaching across the table and gently squeezing Lindsay's hand. "I can't imagine how you're feeling right now. And I wish I knew what to say to you to make you feel better."

Lindsay sniffled as once again her eyes flooded with tears. She rested her head in her hands and her shoulders sagged as the grief that she had been struggling with all day finally overwhelmed her. Yes, she had broken down in the car with Flack and Mac, but she had been in shock, and the emotions hadn't really hit her yet.

_I could lose him_, she thought. _I could lose him. I could lose him. I've lost him_.

Her insides twisted as the last thought passed through her mind. She had spent the past few hours convincing herself that he was alive. But what proof did she have? As far as she knew, he was dead before he'd even been abducted, his body giving up as the anaphylaxis slowly suffocated him. The thought of him spending his last minutes alone, without her by his side and most likely terrified, caused her to feel a pain that was beyond her imagination.

Her stomach cramped and lurched once again and she quickly stood, stumbling to the ladies room where she heaved painfully into the toilet. As she knelt on the floor, she didn't hear Stella's soft footsteps as she followed her, closing the door and locking it behind her before kneeling beside her friend.

Stella gathered Lindsay's hair in her hand, pulling it away from her face and gently rubbing her back, offering soothing words of comfort.

"Shh. Shh. You're okay, Lindsay. It's okay. Shh. Shh."

"Please just leave me alone," Lindsay managed to choke out before another wave of nausea hit her hard, and she convulsed, emptying her stomach into the toilet once more.

"I'm not going anywhere, Lindsay," Stella said, her voice soft and low. "We don't have to talk, but I'm not going to leave you here to suffer by yourself."

Lindsay's face crumpled, tears streaming down her face as her body began to tremble. She leaned away from the toilet, resting her head against the cool wall behind her.

"I... I want him... I want him back," she choked out. "I... I want him to come home. I want to hold him, and I want him to... to be able to hold me back."

"I know, Lindsay," Stella said, handing Lindsay a tissue to wipe her face. "We'll find him. We'll bring Danny home and we'll get the bastard who took him from you."

Lindsay sniffled and looked up at Stella, who was surprised to see a glint of anger in her friend's eyes. "Linds?"

Lindsay shook her head, her red-rimmed brown eyes boring into Stella, who shifted uncomfortably under Lindsay's intense gaze.

"You can't make that promise, Stella," Lindsay said, her voice low and flat. "I'm not an idiot. I was there when you were all discussing the case. And I know, better than anyone, exactly what kind of person David Shorewood is. So don't you dare sit there and tell me that everything is going to be alright."

"I'm sorry, Lindsay," Stella said, raising her hands in surrender. "I... I didn't mean to upset you. I was only trying to help."

"If you want to help, take me back to the lab so that we can actually do something about getting this guy," Lindsay said, wiping her eyes with the tissue, then tossing it into the toilet. "And stop sitting there making promises to me that you can't keep."

Stella sat on the floor of the washroom, her mouth gaping open at Lindsay's angry words. She watched her friend pull herself to her feet and lean over the sink, splashing cold water on her face before she flushed the toilet and turned on her heel, unlocking the door and pulling it open, disappearing down the hallway.

* * *

Mac snapped his phone closed, looking up at Flack.

"That was Stella," he said. "She said that Lindsay practically bit her head of down at the coffee shop, and she wanted to give us all a heads up. I think that the full scale of the situation has finally hit her, and she's not handling it well."

"Shit," Flack said. "Shit. Mac, we gotta dig deeper. We gotta get him back."

"I know, Don," Mac said, sighing as he leaned back in his chair, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Can you please go downstairs and try to head Lindsay off? Bring her back upstairs, okay?"

"Sure thing, Mac," Flack said, nodding his head and turning to stride out of the room, heading toward the elevators.

* * *

As Flack rode down in the elevator, he flipped his phone open and dialled Lindsay's number. He sighed when it went straight to voicemail. She had turned off her phone.

"Lindsay, it's Don," he said into his phone. "Please, please call me back when you get this. I'm worried about you."

He snapped his phone shut, closing his eyes and hoping that she hadn't taken a page from Danny's book and gone off on her own to do something... stupid.

He shook his head. He shouldn't be thinking like that. Not about his friend. His best friend. Yes, Danny could be impulsive at times, but even when acting on instinct, he was rarely stupid. Irrational? Yes. Stupid? No.

As the elevator doors slid open, Flack stepped out into the bustling lobby of the building, casting his eyes around, hoping to get a glimpse of Lindsay. He walked toward the front doors, deciding to head toward the coffee shop. But something stopped him in his tracks. His hand on the front door, he turned and headed back through the lobby to the side doors that lead out into the courtyard. As he approached the large glass doors, he saw a solitary figure sitting on the bench at the back, near the garden.

He felt a wave of relief wash over him, followed quickly by intense sadness at the sight of Lindsay sitting alone on the bench from which Danny had been taken. He pushed open the door and quietly made his way over to her. She didn't look up or even acknowledge his presence as he sat down beside her. He saw that she was crying, her cheeks streaked with fresh tears.

"Can you please tell Stella that I'm sorry?" she asked, her voice trembling softly.

"Hey," Flack said, reaching out and putting his arm around her. She leaned forward and rested her head against his shoulder, letting her tears soak into the fabric of his jacket. "There's no need to be sorry, Linds. We all know how hard this is for you, and it's only natural that you're going to be having a lot of conflicting emotions. I know I am. I'm worried. I'm scared. I'm sad. And I'm fucking pissed off. And I can only imagine that you're feeling everything I'm feeling, only a hundred times worse."

She looked up at him, and he squeezed her shoulder, giving her a lopsided smile.

"You know Danny, Linds," he said. "Better than anyone. You know what a stubborn son-of-a-bitch he can be. There's no way he would just roll over and leave you and Lucy. No way. He's going to fight this bastard with everything he's got. And we are going to do the same. We're going to put everything we have into finding him and bringing him home to you. And we're going to kick that sick motherfucker's ass in the process."

Lindsay gave him a teary smile. "You kiss your mother with that mouth, Flack?" she asked.

"You haven't met my mother, have you?" Flack asked. Lindsay shook her head. "Yeah, well, she's got a mouth like a sailor. I got nothing on her."

Lindsay let out a soft laugh, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand. "Thank you, Don," she said, smiling up at him. "I needed a laugh."

"Glad to be of service, Linds," he said, squeezing her gently to his side. "You wanna come inside? Everyone's worried about you. We should go and let them know that you're alright."

Lindsay nodded her head. "Yeah, okay," she said. "I just... I wanted to see where it... where he..."

"I know, Linds. I know," Flack said. "But there's nothing to see here. We've processed everything, it's all up in the lab."

"I just wish I knew if he was okay," she said. "This... this not knowing... it's the worst feeling in the world. If I knew, either way, I think I'd feel better. I could deal with it better. But this limbo, it's too hard, Don. I can't think straight. All these scenarios keep running through my head, each more awful than the last."

Flack looked down at his best friend's wife. He desperately wished that there was something he could do. Some word of comfort he could give her. Some reassurance that everything would be alright. But he knew that anything he said now would be just empty promises, and she didn't need that. She needed facts. She needed proof.

"Let's go back upstairs, Linds. Let's get to the bottom of this. The answer is up there, and we just have to find it."

She nodded her head. Flack stood, offering her his hand to help her up, which she gratefully accepted. He leaned down and gave her one last hug before leading her back inside the building.

* * *

Danny's head hurt. His ears were buzzing, and his limbs were becoming stiff and sore from being restrained and immobile for so long. He tried to shift himself on the bed, with little success. At the slight movements, his joints ached, and he moaned in pain.

"And how is my patient? Feeling better?" he heard a now familiar and dreaded voice coming from somewhere in the room. "I have to admit that I was disappointed in you, Messer. I expected you to last longer, but you passed out part-way through my treatment. And you know what that means, don't you?"

Danny felt a knot of fear begin to unravel itself in his stomach at Shorewood's words.

"It means we're going to have to try again," he said. "And I'm going to have to ask you to try harder to stay awake, Messer. Be a man. It's really not that bad. Although, under normal circumstances, I would use some kind of sedative, something to dull the pain. But you're a special case, aren't you?"

Danny tried to shake his head, but it was still being held securely in place. He felt his heartbeat quicken once again at the sound of Shorewood approaching his bed from across the room.

"I'm not special," he said, his words slurring as he spoke. _What the fuck_? Danny thought. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he talk properly?

"Ah, an unfortunate side affect of the treatment," Shorewood explained. "It's only natural for some of your brain functions to be a little... erratic immediately following a treatment. It should pass shortly."

Danny's breathing grew shallow as panic began to surge through him. He could hear Shorewood once again moving items around on the table next to him, and he was powerless to do anything to stop him from inflicting the unbearable pain of the electric shocks to his system.

"Please... don't," he managed to slur, his tongue feeling thick and clumsy in his mouth.

"Please don't," Shorewood parroted back to him in a mocking tone. "You're pathetic, Messer. You are getting what you deserve. This is the punishment for stealing what belongs to me."

Danny listened as Shorewood moved closer to the bed. He looked up and saw that a video camera had been mounted on the ceiling just above the bed. He stared into the camera, wondering what the hell Shorewood had planned for him now.

"Ah, I see you've noticed my little addition to the room," Shorewood said. "I was thinking that it was about time that we sent a little message on to Ms. Monroe. What do you say, Messer? Are you ready for your close-up?"

**

* * *

**

**I would love to hear back from you! And I promise to stop hiding under my bed at the end of each chapter... **

Note: Narcissistic Personality Disorder is a real psychological disorder. Basically, people suffering from it feel that they have an innate right to have what they want, when they want it, regardless of the consequences of their actions on other people.

**I don't mean to sound like a textbook, but I thought you might find it helpful to understand where I got the ideas for Shorewood's character from. I studied Personality and Social Psychology in university, and it fascinated me. So I am trying to stay true and be as accurate as possible. But this is a work of fiction, so I may take some liberties. ;)**


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: Thank you so much for the wonderful reviews! I had to have a little chuckle at some of them... apparently there are some serious Flack fans out there ;) Good to know that I'm not alone! **

**I was going to post this chapter yesterday, but I read it again as I was editing it, and honestly? It was awful. So very, very awful. I hated it. So I revamped it, and I like this version much better. I hope that it lives up to your expectations!**

**I won't bore you with any more of my rambling. I will leave you in peace to enjoy Chapter 15.**

* * *

Mac poked his head into the office where both Hawkes and Adam were working. Hawkes had been trying to find out where the Nanny-cam that had been found in the bear had been purchased, while Adam was working on identifying the trace found on the bear and on the sandwich wrappings from Danny's lunch.

"Anything new?" he asked, pulling up a chair and sitting down.

"Yeah, Mac," Hawkes replied, handing him the piece of paper on which he had been taking notes. "I managed tracked down the store where the Nanny-cam came from. Just got off the phone with the owner, and he remembers a guy matching Shorewood's description buying a camera like the one we found about two weeks ago."

"Really? That's great Hawkes!" Mac said.

"And it gets better, Mac," Adam said, looking up from his computer screen. "I finally identified the trace powder we found on the bear. It took forever, but I know what it is."

"And?" Mac prompted the young lab tech to continue.

"And? Oh, yeah," Adam laughed nervously. "And what I initially thought was dust turned out to be tiny particles of paint." Adam flipped through a file and passed a document over to Mac. "It's an older type of paint, and one that hasn't been used in years because it was always flaking off, and the paint itself is highly toxic. Well, these toxic paint chips were getting into everything, making people really sick. So they stopped making it about 10 years ago."

"Okay," said Mac. He had a sense that Adam had more to tell him, and that it was a major lead in the case. He could practically feel Adam vibrating with excitement. "Come on, Adam. Just tell me already."

"Yeah, sorry Mac," Adam said, clearing his throat before continuing. "This particular shade of paint was very popular in hospitals back in the 70s," he said. "And I took the liberty of seeing if it had been used in any hospitals in Manhattan, and I found one! Pinehurst Mental Hospital."

Mac stared blankly back at Adam. He was clearly missing something, because that name didn't mean anything to him.

"That was the hospital that David Shorewood worked at before he was fired, Mac," Hawkes said. "And it ties in perfectly, because it's only four blocks from the store where Shorewood bought the Nanny-cam."

"But it was condemned about 5 years ago," Adam said, his face slightly crestfallen that their big lead seemed to have come to a dead-end.

Mac shook his head, a slow smile spreading across his face. "No, Adam. Actually it's perfect," he said. "It's empty, it's secluded, and Shorewood knows it inside and out. It's the perfect place for him to hide."

Hawkes grinned at Adam. "Nice work, buddy," he said. Adam smiled shyly back at him, his face turning bright red at the compliment.

"Okay, we need to get on this right away," Mac said. "Hawkes, we need schematics of the building. I want you and Adam to look for the most likely places for Shorewood to hole up. Look for access points, and quick and easy escape routes. Shorewood's got a huge advantage over us - he would know that place inside and out, and when we go in, we have to make sure that we're not going in totally blind."

"You got it, Mac," Hawkes and Adam nodded their heads in unison.

Mac rose and left the office, heading back down the hall just in time to see the elevator doors open and Flack step out, his arm around Lindsay's shoulders.

"Hey, Mac," Flack said as they approached him. "Look who I found!"

"Oh, my God, Lindsay!" Stella's voice carried down the hallway where she was just emerging from the break room. Upon seeing Lindsay, she jogged down the hall and pulled her friend into a tight embrace. "I was so worried. When I came out of the bathroom and you were gone... I didn't know what to do."

Lindsay returned the hug, holding Stella tightly to her. "I'm so sorry, Stell," she whispered so that only Stella could hear her.

Stella pulled away, holding Lindsay at arm's length and shook her head gently. "Nothing to be sorry about, kiddo," she said.

"Thanks, Stell," Lindsay said, relief flooding through her. She had been worried that after lashing out at Stella, who had only been trying to help, things would be awkward between them. But she should have known better. Stella had been through her own set of trials and tribulations, and wasn't one to hold a grudge against a friend in need.

Stella gave her a quick wink and a smile as Mac lead them all into his office to go over the information he had just received from Hawkes and Adam.

* * *

Danny cringed as he felt Shorewood attach the electrodes to his temples once again. _Please, God_, the thought. _Please, not again. Not this_.

Shorewood leaned back, satisfied that they were attached properly, then he reached up and turned on the camera. Danny noticed a cord running from the camera, across the ceiling and down to a laptop computer that was sitting on a desk on the far side of the room.

"Now, I want your full cooperation, Messer," Shorewood said calmly as he settled himself in a chair beside Danny's bed. "Cooperate, and you won't get hurt. But if you mess up my plans, I swear, you will regret it for the short time you have left on this earth. Do you understand me?"

Danny's chest constricted painfully as his panic began to rise up inside him once more. His breath was coming in short, painful, shallow gasps. _Shit. I'm going to die_.

"I asked you a question, Messer," Shorewood said, his voice rising in anger. When Danny didn't respond, he grabbed Danny's wrist and twisted it until he heard a sharp snap.

"Answer me, you little prick!"

"Fuck!" Danny cried out in pain. "Fuck! Fuck!"

"I can't hear you," Shorewood said, his fingers curled tightly around Danny's injured wrist. "Was that a yes?"

"Fuck! Yes! Yes... okay. I'll... I'll cooperate! Fuck!"

"That's better," Shorewood said, giving Danny's wrist one final quick and vicious jerk before releasing him. He grinned maliciously down at Danny before he stood up and walked over to the other side of the room to where the laptop sat.

Danny lay on the bed, his left arm throbbing painfully. He willed himself too move his fingers, but the pain was too great and his hand hung limply from the restraint. He closed his eyes and tried to take deep, steadying breaths. He had to pull himself together. He was smart, he was tough. He could withstand whatever it was that Shorewood had in store for him. He had to. He had to get out of here. He had to see Lindsay and Lucy again.

At the thought of his wife and daughter, his breathing evened out. He pictured their faces. He saw them sitting at the kitchen table, laughing while he cooked them breakfast. He watched as Lucy took her first steps into his outstretched arms, Lindsay watching with tears of pride in her eyes, her camera held in her hands. He saw Lindsay's face smiling serenely up at him as he made love to her.

"No dozing off, Messer." Shorewood's voice brought an abrupt end to his happy reverie. Danny opened his eyes to see the red _record _light flashing on the camera. Shorewood was once again sitting beside the bed, one hand poised over the switch that would cause a fresh wave of electric current to course through his body. Danny felt a painful knot forming in his stomach at the prospect of the pain that he would endure before this was all over.

* * *

The team was assembled in Mac's office going over schematics of Pinehurst Mental Hospital, searching for the perfect place for Shorewood to set up his lair. As they were working, Mac heard his computer beep, indicating that he had a new email.

Deciding that his eyes needed a break from staring at the intricate blueprints and building diagrams, he reached over and clicked on the email icon, and a message window popped up. His heart stopped as he read the contents of the message.

"What is it, Mac?" Stella asked. Mac realized that upon seeing his reaction to the message, the whole team had stopped what they were doing and were now staring at him.

"It's from Shorewood," he said. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Stella reach out and take Lindsay's hand in hers, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

"What does it say?" Stella asked.

Mac turned back to the screen and began to read aloud.

_Mr. Taylor._

_I think I may have found something that belongs to you._

_If you want him back, I will need something in return._

_Fair is fair, after all._

_Oh, and Messer has recorded a little greeting for you. I do so hope you enjoy._

_Yours sincerely,_

_D_

At the bottom of the page there was a link. Mac's mouse hovered over the link, his mind racing and his hands shaking. He was terrified of what he would see - what Lindsay would see - if he clicked on the link.

"Please, Mac," she whispered. "Please, I need to see him. I need to know he's alright."

"Linds, I don't think that's the point of the exercise," Flack said gently. "Come on. Come with me. We'll take a walk and Mac can let us know if it's something you should see."

Tears were streaming down Lindsay's face as she stubbornly refused to get up. "No! No, please! Please, Don. I need to see him."

"I don't think that's a every good idea, honey," Stella said softly. Her heart broke as Lindsay's face crumpled once again and she drew her knees up to her chest and began to rock back and forth in her chair. Stella looked up at Mac, and she could see he was just as torn as she was. They all wanted some reassurance that Danny was still alive, but they were also petrified by the fear of what the sick bastard may have done to him.

"Lindsay, are you sure?" Mac asked.

She stopped rocking momentarily and looked at him with teary eyes. She shook her head. "No. I'm not sure. I'm not sure about anything anymore." she replied with a trembling voice. "But I need to hear his voice and see his face... at least one more time."

Nodding his head, Mac clicked on the link. Instantly an image appeared on the screen. It was an image that would be burned into each of their minds forever.

Danny Messer was laying motionless on a hospital bed, his arms and legs strapped to the bed with large, sturdy leather restraints. A large vice-like contraption held his head in place, and he had what looked like little white suction cups with wires running out of them attached to his temples. His left wrist was bent at an unnatural angle, and his face was swollen, whether from his allergic reaction, or from a severe beating, they couldn't be sure. But he didn't look good.

Mac felt a large lump form in his throat at the sight of Danny, the man he had come to think of as a son, looking so vulnerable. It tore him up inside to see him so beaten down and so frail.

"Fuck," Flack breathed.

"Oh, God," Stella said, raising a shaking hand to cover her mouth and stifle her sobs.

Lindsay leaned forward in her chair as she took in her husband's appearance. She reached out and caressed his face on the screen, willing him to open his eyes and look at her. _Please, please let him be alive_.

"No dozing off, Messer," the disembodied voice of David Shorewood came over the speakers.

Lindsay's heart leapt as she watched Danny's eyes flutter open. He stared up at the camera, and Lindsay saw his blue eyes, normally so full of life and boyish mischief, were dull and glassy.

"Now, I want you to deliver a message for me. Can you do that, Messer?"

"Yes," Danny's voice was hoarse and rough.

"Tell them that you're alright. Tell them how I've been looking after you. How I saved you out in that courtyard."

When Danny didn't start to speak immediately, Shorewood's voice came again, harsher this time. "I'm waiting, Messer. Tell them."

"Fuck you," Danny spat.

The team jumped in surprise as Danny suddenly began to convulse on the bed, a scream of pain erupting from his lips as his eyes rolled back in his head.

"Danny! Oh, God! No!" Lindsay screamed, covering her face with her hands. Flack reached out and wrapped his arms around her protectively, trying to shield her from the awful sight.

After a few seconds, Danny's seizure was over and he lay motionless on the bed, his eyes open but glazed over.

Mac looked around at the faces in the room, all of them horror-stricken at what they had just witnessed. He felt his blood beginning to boil in his veins at what this monster was doing to a member of his team... his family. He turned back to the video.

"You promised you would cooperate, Messer," Shorewood said.

Danny continued to stare blankly at the camera, his eyes blinking slowly and his breath coming in ragged, raspy gasps.

"Well, if Messer won't speak for himself, then I will do it for him. I saved his life. I found him suffering and alone in the courtyard, and I saved him. I brought him here with me and gave him proper treatment. And now he owes me a favour."

A chill went down Flack's spine as he listed to Shorewood. _This fucking fruit loop had better hope someone gets to him before I do_, he thought. _Because if I ever get my hands on him, I will tear him apart, piece by piece. And I'll do it as slow as fucking possible_.

"And it's time for his favour to be repaid. I have something of yours, and you have something of mine. And I want it - excuse me, I should say I want _her _- back. You have 12 hours to deliver Miss Lindsay Monroe to me, or Messer dies."

Shorewood's tirade was interrupted by Danny who had begun to struggle against his restraints as best he could, pulling against the leather straps that bound his arms and legs, his face red with rage and frustration.

"Leave her alone you fucking prick!" he shouted. "I swear to God, you touch a hair on her head and I will fucking end you! Mac! Don! Anyone... don't let her do it! Keep her away. Don't... don't... keep her safe! Lindsay, please..." His words died on his lips as yet another jolt of electricity shot through him, his body arching off the table and his mouth open in a silent scream. The team watched as his eyes closed and his jaw went slack as he lost consciousness, the shallow rise and fall of his chest the only sign of life.

"You have 12 hours. I'll be in touch with instructions."

Then the screen went blank.

**

* * *

**

So, I know that this chapter isn't exactly sunshine and roses... but I hope it kept you on the edge of your seat and that you enjoyed it at least a little. (hmm, enjoyed seems like the wrong word somehow...)

**I would love to hear your thoughts. Please leave me a review and let me know!**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: So, I take it from your reviews that my efforts to keep you at the edge of your seats was successful. Excellent! Then my work here is done *dusts of hands and walks away from the computer***

**Just kidding. I wouldn't leave you dangling like that! Thank you all so much for your wonderful words of support. I really loved reading your reactions to the case work, plus your collective horror at Shorewood's treatment of Danny. You guys are awesome!**

**So, this chapter is a little different. It deals with the aftermath of the video - how the team is feeling, and how the ultimatum from Shorewood will affect their plans for saving Danny. **

**So, here we go... Chapter 16.**

* * *

Lindsay stared at the screen, her heart racing in her chest. _Oh, God. Oh, God. Please... please let him be alright_. She felt her stomach lurch and she suddenly had the uncontrollable urge to be sick. Resting her hands on the arms of her chair, she tried to push herself up to her feet, but her legs wouldn't cooperate as they wobbled and gave out beneath her, sending her tumbling to the floor.

She heard the scuffling of feet and the scraping of chairs around her. She felt hands on her shoulders and heard vague words of reassurance in her ears. But none of them really registered in her brain. All she could see was his face. So swollen and battered that it was almost unrecognizable, the face of her husband in the throws of unimaginable pain was playing in her mind over and over again, his baby blue eyes staring back at her, panic stricken, until his body could withstand no more and he slipped into blessed unconsciousness. She rested her forehead against the carpeted floor, closing her eyes and willing herself to shut it all out, shut out all the pain and anguish until she could feel Danny's arms around her once more.

"Lindsay? Come on, honey. Please, please get up," Stella pleaded with her, turning to the rest of the team and shaking her head. "I can't get through to her. Can you help me get her to the couch?"

Nodding, Mac, Adam, Flack and Hawkes surrounded Lindsay, gently taking hold of her arms and legs and lifting her, laying her on the couch. Flack removed his jacket, bunching it up and placing it under Lindsay's head. He felt an anger unlike any he had ever experienced before rising up inside of him at the sight of Lindsay curled up into herself on the couch, her small body shivering uncontrollably.

"She shouldn't have seen that," he said, shaking his head sadly. "Fuck! No one should have had to see that. That fucking prick!" His voice rose in anger. "I swear to God, Mac, if I ever get my hands on that sick son-of-a-bitch..."

Mac held up his hand, stopping the flow of words coming from Flack. "I know, Don," he said, sitting down on the coffee table and resting his head in his hands. "I've seen a lot in my time," he mumbled into his hands. "But this? This was something else. This was personal. This was Danny, one of our own." He raised his head and looked at the team. "How close are we to getting into that hospital?" he asked.

Hawkes took a deep breath, reaching down to pick up one of the complex schematic diagrams of the building. "I don't know, Mac," he said. "I mean, there are so many possibilities, and it could take us a long time to narrow them down. Time that we don't have, if Shorewood is serious about his deadline of 12 hours."

Mac nodded his head, blinking hard to hold back the tears of frustration, anger and sadness that he could feel building up behind his eyes. He looked up at Stella, Flack, Hawkes and Adam, each of their faces set determinedly. "I think we're all in agreement here," he said. "We need to act, and we need to act fast. Shorewood is dangerously unbalanced, and there is no telling what else he has planned for Danny."

Hawkes glanced down at Lindsay's prone form on the couch, then inclined his head to the opposite side of the room, indicating for the team to follow him out of Lindsay's earshot. They all quietly moved over to the far side of Mac's office, leaning in close to listen to what Hawkes had to say.

"Based on what I saw, I don't think that Danny can take a whole lot more," he said quietly. "His breathing was very laboured, probably as a result of the anaphylaxis. It would have done some serious damage to his lungs and would make breathing even under normal circumstances difficult and painful. But under these kinds of conditions..." His voice trailed off and he shook his head.

"What was Shorewood doing to him, Doc?" Adam asked timidly, his voice shaky from having seen someone that he was so close to tormented and tortured so viciously.

"Well, judging by the electrodes on his head, I would say that it's a safe bet that Shorewood was administering electro-shock _therapy_," Hawkes used his fingers to make air quotations around the word _therapy_. "But normally, patients are sedated so there is no pain, and the electric currents are fairly mild and for short bursts." He shook his head. "Danny definitely wasn't sedated, and from his reactions, Shorewood was using a much higher voltage that is normally deemed safe for this type of procedure. Plus, each course of shocks lasted for several seconds, not the short, quick bursts that are intended for therapeutic purposes."

"Fuck," Flack said, wiping his eyes with the sleeve of his shirt. "Fuck. That goddamn douche bag. I mean, Danny's a tough guy, Hawkes. We all know that, and to see him screaming like that, it's just... it's messed up, man."

Stella placed a hand on Flack's shoulder, only to have him shake it off. "Sorry, guys. I just... I need a minute," he said, striding quickly from the room, out into the hallway in the direction of the locker room.

"Adam, go with him," Mac said quietly. "Just... I don't think that any of us really needs to be alone right now, okay? Go."

Adam nodded and quickly followed Flack's steps down the hall.

Stella glanced over her shoulder in Lindsay's direction, seeing her friend still lying almost catatonic on the couch. She turned back to the two men in front of her. "What about Lindsay?" she asked. "Will she be alright?"

Hawkes shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, Stell," he said. "She's been through a lot of stress these past two days, more than most of us go through in a lifetime. I know she's strong, but since we've known her, she's always had Danny to help hold her up, to be her anchor. Even before they were... you know, Danny and Lindsay. If he doesn't make it," he shrugged his shoulders again. "I just don't know."

Stella looked over at Lindsay again, her eyes tearing up at the thought of her friend having to go through the rest of her life without her partner, her husband, and the father of her child. Lindsay had been through so much - from seeing her friends murdered right before her eyes when she was just a teenager, to having to relive the whole painful ordeal during the trial, to helping Danny recover from a paralyzing gunshot wound, to the whole Shane Casey fiasco a year ago at the lighthouse on Long Island. She knew her friend was strong, but there was only so much that a person could take.

"We'll get him back, Stella," Mac said, seeing that her concern for Lindsay was starting to overwhelm her, he pulled her into a tight hug. "They'll both be fine. Danny and Lindsay will both be fine."

Stella sniffled into Mac's shoulder. "Who are you trying to convince, Mac?" she asked.

Despite their current situation, Mac let out a soft chuckle. "I guess I'm trying to convince us all. We need to stay positive. We have to believe that he'll be alright."

Stella pulled away, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue before blowing her nose. "Okay, so, what's the plan?"

* * *

Flack stormed into the locker room, stalking up to a locker and punching it hard before cursing loudly and cradling his hand which was now stinging from the sharp contact with the locker. He shook it off before leaning up against the bank of lockers and letting himself sink down onto the floor. He closed his eyes and tried to focus on the pain in his hand instead of the pain he felt every time he thought about his best friend's face contorted with pain.

"You okay, Flack?"

Flack opened his eyes and looked up to see Adam standing over him. He scoffed before shaking his head. "Do I look like I'm fucking okay, Adam?" he said. His words were harsh, but his tone was gentle. Danny had once told him that Adam had admitted to being bullied by his abusive stepfather as a child, and he hated raised voices. Ever since then, Flack had always made a concerted effort to keep his temper under control around the young man.

"Um... Mac sent me to make sure that... um..."

"Yeah, Adam. It's alright. I figured someone would come after me... it's just that usually, that someone is Danny."

As his friend's name left his lips, Flack felt an intense sadness and loneliness wash over him. What if they didn't get to him in time? What would he do without Danny around? Danny had always been his wingman, and he had been Danny's. They had helped one another out of countless scrapes, fought like dogs, shared countless games of pool and pitchers of beer, talked at length about anything and everything. Danny knew all his secrets, and he knew Danny's. And he knew that he would be lost without him. Who would he keep out of trouble? Who would keep _him _out of trouble, or call him on his bullshit?

He heard Adam move closer before sliding down the front of the lockers and joining Flack on the floor, the two men sitting side by side, facing the doors leading to the bathrooms.

"Jesus," Flack said. "What the fuck happened to the women's bathroom door?"

Adam chuckled softly. "Danny did that," he said. "Stella told me that after Lindsay saw the video of them... you know..." Adam felt his cheeks burning at the mention of the video. "Um, she said that Lindsay locked herself in the bathroom and Danny tried to kick it in when she wouldn't open the door."

Flack couldn't help but laugh out loud, the sound echoing through the empty locker room.

"Doesn't look like he got very far, does it?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Flack saw the smile fade from Adam's face.

"What are we gonna do if he doesn't come back?" he whispered. "He's... I mean, I know he's your best friend, and he's Lindsay's husband... but... I... he's..."

"It's okay, kid," Flack said. "You look up to him, yeah?"

Adam nodded his head sadly. "I know I'm kind of awkward, and I'm a geek, and sometimes I say shit that's kind of... well, I've got bad timing when it comes to conversations. But Danny never made a big deal out of it like other people did. He just, I don't know. He just treated me like he treated everybody else. And I never had anybody do that before."

Flack clapped Adam gently on the shoulder. "Well, he thinks the world of you, buddy," he said. "I remember him telling me about how brave you were when you and him were held hostage by that Irish gang after the big drug bust."

"I wasn't brave," Adam said, a tear trailing down his cheek. "Danny was brave. He... he thought of the plan, and he took on those thugs and let them beat him up so that I could get to my kit."

"Yeah, and do you know how impressed he was that you actually got up and went for your kit?" Flack asked. "He knew how scared you were, and he thought he had to try to give you a chance to get it, but he wasn't sure if you'd be able to do it. He said that was the last time he would ever underestimate you, Adam. He was really, really proud of you. You should know that."

Adam glanced over at Flack, then wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. "Thanks, Flack," he whispered. "Thank you. I never knew that."

"Well, now you know. And you're welcome," Flack said. He shifted uncomfortably in his position on the floor. "My ass hurts. This floor ain't meant for sitting. Let's get out of here and see what we can do to help."

"Sounds like a plan," Adam said, standing up and brushing himself off, giving his eyes a final wipe with his sleeve before he and Flack headed back out to join the team.

* * *

As Flack and Adam re-entered the office, Mac raised his head. "Welcome back," he said, giving both men a small smile. "You're just in time. Flack, I need you to make a call, get the SWAT team ready to go. We're going to want to move out as soon as possible."

"You got it, Mac," Flack said, taking his cell phone out of his pocket and flipping it open. He walked to the far side of the room to place his call.

"You okay, Adam?" Hawkes asked, his concern for his young friend evident in his voice.

"Yeah. Thanks, Doc. I'll be fine," Adam said.

Hawkes smiled back at him. "I knew you would be," he said.

"So, I'm thinking that our best plan of attack is to take the whole hospital as quickly and quietly as possible," Mac said, bringing everyone's attention back to the task at hand. "Flack will be our liaison with the commander of the SWAT team. We want to get in without making our presence known, and sweep the building before Shorewood knows we're there. We will go with the SWAT team, helping them to clear the building and keeping our eyes peeled for any signs of either Shorewood or Danny. Once we have an idea of where they may be holed up, I want Hawkes and Flack to come with me, while Stella and Adam will fall back to run operations from the perimeter. Flack and I will work with SWAT to take down Shorewood, while I want you, Sheldon, to look after Danny. Are there any questions?"

"What about me?" came a small voice from behind them. Five heads swivelled around to look at Lindsay who was now sitting up on the couch. "I want to help."

Mac sighed. "Lindsay, Shorewood is after you. You are his endgame," he said. "I can't take the risk of you getting yourself captured or injured... or worse. I'm sorry, but you will stay behind here at the lab."

"No," Lindsay said, her voice quiet but firm. "I will _not _stay here. I refuse to sit idly by while you all risk your lives when there is something that I can do to help."

"Lindsay, I really think..."

"Frankly, Mac, I don't care what you think," Lindsay said, her eyes blazing with her determination. "I am going to come with you, with or without your blessing. Danny is my husband. He's the father of my daughter. And he's in this mess because of me... because this... this monster has taken a simple mistake on my part and twisted it into some kind of sick fantasy. I owe it to Danny to be there for him. He would do no less for me."

"Lindsay, honey. I know that you're angry, and that you want to help Danny," Stell said. "But please. Danny used his last breath before he passed out to warn you to stay away. Don't you think that you owe it to him to do that? To keep yourself safe? He loves you, and he doesn't want to see anything bad happen to you."

"Think about Lucy," Hawkes said. "She needs you... do you think it's fair for her to have both her father and her mother put their lives in peril this way? Especially when all Danny wants is for you to stay safe?"

"Oh, now you want to talk to me about fair? Please," Lindsay said, standing up and walking over to the group seated around Mac's desk. "None of this is fair, Sheldon. But I refuse to be a victim anymore. I'm going, and that's final."

"I agree with Lindsay. I think she should come."

Heads snapped around to look at Flack.

"What?" Stella shouted.

"Flack, come on!" Hawkes said, shaking his head.

"No, think about it," he said. "Shorewood's after her. He thinks he's in love with her. He's put this whole plan in place in order to get her. Do you really think that he's just going to turn around and hurt her?"

Mac's mouth gaped open at the proposition he was hearing from Don Flack. "Are you insane? She can't come! Shorewood is a maniac! It's too dangerous, and I will not allow her to put herself in that kind of position!"

"I'm not saying that we'd send her in on her own, or without proper protection. But I think that as a last resort, being able to show him that Lindsay is with us, and that she's come of her own free will, might just buy us some time to get Danny out before Shorewood realizes that Lindsay has no intention of staying with him."

Mac shook his head, unable to believe his ears. "No. No. She is not coming! She can't put herself in harm's way like that."

"I've done it before, Mac," Lindsay said. "And you didn't have a problem with it then. Remember the Holly Golightly case? And what about using me for bait during that murder investigation last year when we knew that the killer was going to come back to finish the job? You didn't have a problem putting me in harm's way then. How is this any different?"

"Lindsay, this is too personal. You're not thinking this through clearly," Mac replied, his voice less firm than before, and Lindsay could sense that his adamance was faltering.

"I'm thinking clearly for the first time in two days, Mac," she replied. She pulled up a chair and sat down across from him, leaning forward and clasping her hands around his. "Please, Mac. If I don't go, and Shorewood hears you guys coming, Danny is as good as dead. I'm your best chance of getting him out alive. I know it's risky. I know that," she said, giving him a small smile. "But I love Danny, Mac. And for him, it's a risk that I'm willing to take."

Mac sighed and shook his head. This was a bad idea. A bad, bad idea. He knew it. But he also knew that Lindsay had a point. If things got really bad inside then maybe, just maybe, having Lindsay with them would be the difference between life and death for Danny.

"Well, Mac? What's it going to be?" Lindsay asked him.

"I don't like it, Lindsay," he said. "And it goes against every fibre of my better judgement to do this. But I think that you're right." He held up his hand to stop the flow of words he knew were about to spill forth from Lindsay and the rest of the team. "But I have a few conditions."

"Okay. What? What are they?" Lindsay asked.

"First, you are to stay outside and out of sight until I give you the signal to come inside. You are not to enter the building under any circumstances, no matter what you may hear, until I give the word. Is that understood?"

Lindsay nodded her head. "Got it. What else?"

"Secondly, if you do come in, you are to follow my instructions and the instructions of Flack and the SWAT commander at all times. You are not to make a move or say a single word to Shorewood unless it is cleared by one of us first."

"Okay, Mac. I promise," she said.

"And lastly, in the event of a worst-case scenario, if we don't get to... to Danny in time, I will have a police escort remove you from the scene and bring you back to the lab where you will wait, under police protection, until we are certain that Shorewood is no longer a threat to you."

Lindsay swallowed hard, but her voice was steady when she spoke. "I promise, Mac. Thank you."

Mac sighed and pulled his hands away from Lindsay's grasp. "Let's get ready. Flack, what's the ETA on the SWAT team?"

"They're meeting us two blocks from the hospital in 30 minutes, Mac."

Mac nodded. His stomach was tied in knots as he spoke. "Go, get geared up. Grab your vests and your weapons. We move out in 10."

**

* * *

**

*Ducks under the bed to hide just in case*

So, I realize Danny isn't actually in this chapter, but I figured that the team was talking about him enough that I could _maybe _get away with a chapter without having to see him tortured yet again... *peeks out from under the bed and grins* Besides, I didn't want to over-do it before the big climactic showdown. ;)

**As I've said in previous stories, I'm really not a big crier, but going over the emotions of the team there were a few times that I had to reach for my tissues. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please, please leave me a review and let me know!**

****IMPORTANT NOTE**: I will be away Friday and Saturday, so I hope to have the next chapter up by Sunday evening at the latest. I just wanted to apologize in advance for keeping you waiting a few extra days for the next chapter... I promise it will be worth the wait!**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: So, looking at the clock on my desk, I can see that it's not technically Sunday anymore... but I hope you'll forgive me! I was busier than I thought this weekend and I didn't get as many chances to get some writing done as I had hoped. I'm so sorry for making you wait for this update, but I hope it lives up to your expectations!**

**Thank you all once again for your amazing and encouraging reviews! I seriously cannot believe the positive feedback that I have received for this story, and I just can't find the words to express my gratitude to you all!**

**But enough from me. Here's what you've been waiting for... Chapter 17.**

* * *

Flack kept his eyes on the road, but every once in a while he would hazard a quick glance over at the passenger seat, making sure that Lindsay was okay. She was staring out the side window, her forehead pressed up against the glass. He couldn't see her face, but he could hear her sniffling quietly to herself.

"Linds?" he asked softly. "Lindsay? Come on, talk to me please. Are you going to be okay when we go in there?"

"I don't want to think about it, Don," she said delicately dabbing at her eyes with a tissue she had pulled from her pocket. "I'm trying my best to only think about how good it's going to feel to hold Danny in my arms again once this is all over. I'm trying as hard as I can not to think about anything in between. I just want to get from A to B as fast as possible."

"Please tell me that I made the right choice, Lindsay," he said quietly. "In standing up for you... for having you come with us. Please tell me that you can handle this, because I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if you can't. Will you be alright?"

Lindsay pulled her forehead from the cool glass of the passenger side window and turned to look at Flack. She gave him a small half-smile. "I can't answer that question, Don," she said apologetically. "These past two days, I've had thoughts and felt emotions that I never dreamed I would be capable of," she said, shaking her head. "I've felt fear before, but the absolute terror of losing Danny is something completely foreign to me. And the sadness that I feel every time I think about the possibility of Lucy growing up not knowing her father, and what an amazing man he was? I can't do it. It hurts to much. So I'm trying to take it one step at a time." She lowered her gaze to her hands which were resting on her lap, twisting her fingers nervously. "Do you want to know what scares me the most, though?"

"What, Linds?" he asked.

"I want to kill him," she whispered. "Whether Danny is alive or... or whatever happens today, I want to know that David Shorewood is dead." She looked up at Flack, her brown eyes full of hurt and shame. "Does that make me a bad person?"

Flack looked at Lindsay out of the corner of his eye, seeing her downcast expression. He shook his head in response. "No, Lindsay," he said. "That doesn't make you a bad person. It makes you human. It's only natural to want to hurt someone who has hurt you like this."

"But..." Lindsay's argument was interrupted by Flack as he began speaking over her.

"But how you deal with that desire for revenge is what defines the type of person you are, Linds," he said. "In our line of work, we see people on the worst day of their lives. Some of the people we lock up are truly evil, and they have done what they've done out of pure spite or malice. But sometimes, they are just people who have made a bad decision, even if its for the right reasons." He looked over at Lindsay, looking small and alone in the seat next to him. He reached out and took her hand in his, squeezing her fingers gently. "When the time comes, you'll know what to do, Linds," he said. "You'll make the right choice. I know you will."

She looked up at him, smiling and tightening her grip on his hand before releasing it, raising her hands up to run her fingers through her hair. "I hope so," she said, turning to stare out of the window once more.

* * *

When Flack and Lindsay arrived, the SWAT team was already assembled and receiving their instructions from both Mac and their commanding officer. Flack turned off the engine and jumped out of the truck running over to where Stella, Hawkes and Adam were standing, Lindsay hot on his heels.

"Flack! You're just in time, we're ready to move out," Mac said, striding over to where the small group was gathered. "I want you four with me," he pointed to Flack, Hawkes, Adam and Stella, "and Lindsay, you're over there in the van. You can observe the operations from there until I give you the all-clear to enter the building. Understood?"

Silently, five heads nodded their agreement. Mac handed Flack and Lindsay a Kevlar vest each. He turned to walk away, but stopped himself, walking back over to Lindsay and pulling her into a tight hug.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered in her ear. "We'll get him."

And then they were gone. Lindsay watched with her heart thudding loudly in her chest as her friends took off down the street toward her husband and his captor, their weapons drawn and at the ready, followed closely by the SWAT team.

* * *

They had cleared the entire lower floor of the building, leaving a guard at the bottom of each stairwell and elevator shaft to ensure that Shorewood would meet resistance should he attempt to escape. Slowly, they ascended the stairs to the second floor, Mac in the lead, followed by the SWAT commander, an intimidating man called Johnson. They cautiously peered around each corner before proceeding, using hand signals to communicate with one another in lieu of words, in case Shorewood was listening in to radio communication.

They had managed to clear the east wing completely, and were making steady progress in clearing the west side of the building, stopping to check every room for signs of recent habitation. But there was still no sign of either Shorewood or Danny.

Rounding a corner, they came to a long, foreboding hallway. The lights were dim and flickered menacingly, and the hall floor was dusty. Mac stopped moving, indicating with a gesture of his hand for the group behind him to stop and wait. He pointed to the ground where the dust had obviously been disturbed recently. It looked like something - or someone - had been dragged down the hall, as the marks in the dust were eerily similar to those left in the garden of the courtyard where Danny had been taken.

With a nod of his head, Mac indicated for the team to follow him, slowly, cautiously and quietly. As he moved forward, he noticed a flashing red light in the corner of his eye.

_Shit_. He had just set off a motion detector. All along the hallway, red lights began to flash in unison, and up ahead, he heard the distinct sound of running footsteps, followed by the slamming of a door.

"What's going on?" he heard Adam whisper somewhere behind him.

Turning, Mac indicated for the group to retreat several steps back around the corner. He lowered his weapon, sighing and scrubbing his face with his hands.

"Shorewood knows we're here," he said, his voice low and tinged with frustration. "He must have installed a series of motion detectors along the hallway, and I just triggered one. So we have to move fast. Flack and Hawkes, I want you two with me and the first unit of the SWAT team. Stella and Adam, you will stay here with the second unit and make sure Shorewood doesn't get past you. Are we clear?" As he watched the faces around him nod in agreement, Mac took a deep breath before he turned and peered down the hallway. "Okay then. First unit, let's go."

Raising his weapon once again, he led the way around the corner and down the hall.

* * *

Lindsay sat in the observation van listening in to the proceedings inside the building. It was stuffy and overly warm in the van, and she was irritated at having been left behind. She wanted to do something, and sitting here in the van she felt useless. She looked over at the young men who were tinkering with the radio controls, a pair of headphones over their ears as they listened to what was going on in the building two blocks away.

There had been silence over the radio for over twenty minutes now, and Lindsay was becoming impatient. The silence gave her time to think about what could be happening inside the hospital, what the team was doing, where they were, and what Danny might be going through right now at the hands of David Shorewood. A thousand unpleasant thoughts drifted through her mind, and she tried to push them aside, but to no avail.

She had thought that seeing him would give her some hope, that knowing he was alive would make her feel better. But watching the video and seeing what Shorewood was doing to him, seeing the pain that was he was in, just made everything so much worse. She wanted to get up and pace, but the cramped interior of the van meant that she had to sit tight. She longed to stretch her legs, but she didn't dare get up and leave the fan for fear that she might miss Mac's signal.

Her head snapped up as she finally heard Mac's voice crackle over the radio. Although she couldn't catch everything that was being said, she could tell that he didn't sound happy.

"...wood knows we're here... stalled...motion...tectors along the... trigger... move fast..."

Lindsay didn't wait to hear anymore. She had heard enough. They had gotten close, and Shorewood now knew they were in the building, so the all-important element of surprise was gone. She acted purely on instinct, flinging the headphones she had been wearing from her ears and pushing her way to the door of the van, shoving it open and running off down the street toward the hospital before the other occupants of the van even knew she was gone.

* * *

Danny moaned as he regained consciousness. His arms and legs were numb from lack of movement and blood flow, and his left wrist was still painfully throbbing after being broken. His lungs burned and his throat was dry and sore from screaming, never mind the inflammation from his allergic reaction. His head was pounding from the blow Shorewood had landed on his jaw hours earlier, and his stomach muscles ached from his convulsions.

He cautiously cracked open one eye, and quickly shut it again as the bright lights of the room attacked his sensitive retinas, causing his headache to increase tenfold until Danny was sure his head was going to split right in two. He tried to take some deep breaths to calm himself down, but he just couldn't seem to get enough oxygen into his system to alleviate the panic he was feeling. He gently tugged on the restraints, once again making a feeble attempt to test his boundaries, searching for a weak link that he could exploit in order to free himself. Finding none, he let out a low groan of defeat.

_I am so fucked_, he thought to himself. He was dehydrated, he was exhausted, and his arms and legs were practically useless. Even if he could get himself out of his restraints and off the table, he knew he wouldn't get very far without help. His legs were in no condition to carry him, and he doubted his lungs would be able to sustain him if he needed to run.

A sense of immense hopelessness seemed to settle on Danny. He had a vague recollection of the conversation that he was sure had been videotaped and sent to Mac. He knew that Shorewood had made some demand, and that Lindsay was involved somehow. And he remembered shouting for her to stay away, for anyone listening to the message to keep her safe, keep her away from Shorewood. He could only hope that Mac had seen the video in the privacy of his office, away from the rest of the team, and specifically away from Lindsay. He knew that if she saw it, she would want to do something, she would feel the need to help him. And although Danny was desperate to see his wife's beautiful face and feel her arms around him, her fingers running through his hair again, more than anything else he just wanted her to be safe. And if that meant that he died at the hands of this psychopath, then so be it. His life for hers was a fair trade as far as he was concerned. As long as she was safe, as long as she stayed away, he could rest easily and handle whatever Shorewood had in store for him.

He squeezed his eyes closed, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. He knew that if it came down to it, he would gladly sacrifice himself for Lindsay. She was his everything, his wife, lover, partner and the mother of his child. But still, the thought of never seeing her again caused him to choke up, a hard and painful lump forming in his throat. He thought of his little girl, not even two years old yet, and how he would miss out on her life, on all the milestones that were to come. He saw her beautiful little face, her big blue eyes, her chubby cheeks and her blond ringlets so clearly in his mind's eye. So much like himself, yet also so much like Lindsay at the same time.

He thought about his little family and how much he loved them both, more than he had ever thought possible. He had never dared to dream that he would find the happiness that he had in his life, a happiness that he and Lindsay had both fought so hard for.

_So why are you giving up, Messer?_ he asked himself. Yes, he was in pain. Yes, his lungs burned with every breath. Yes, he knew he might very well lose his life to Shorewood. But wasn't his family worth the risk? Weren't they worth fighting for?

Nodding to himself, Danny made up his mind. No matter what, he would fight to his very last breath to get back to his family. He let out a soft sigh as the hopelessness that had blanketed him seemed to lift. He had a goal now. A purpose. He no longer felt so lost and helpless. As long as he remembered what he was fighting for, he had a chance to get out of here.

He cracked his eyes open once more, letting them adjust to the brightness in the room before opening them fully and taking in his surroundings. The first thing that Danny noticed was that Shorewood was nowhere to be seen, and this disturbed him. Although he hated the sight of the man, he took a small amount of comfort from the fact that as long as he was within sight, Danny could keep track of Shorewood's movements. On the other hand, without Shorewood in the room, Danny knew he had no immediate fear of the painful electric shocks that his captor had taken great delight in inflicting on him.

He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible on the lumpy hospital bed. He knew he needed to be rested and to save his strength for whatever Shorewood had planned for him. He had to keep his wits about him, staying on the alert for any miniscule slip-up by Shorewood that would give him the advantage and allow him the chance to escape.

Suddenly, the door to the room was flung open and Shorewood stormed in, slamming the door behind him. Judging by his frantic actions and the way he was mumbling to himself, something was wrong. He strode over to the bed where Danny lay, and began fumbling with the clasps on the restraints.

"Fuck. Fuck!" Shorewood muttered to himself. "This can't be happening. I said 12 hours. They're early." He stopped his fumbling and looked at Danny. "Why are they early? Are they deaf? Could they not understand my simple instructions? Fuck!"

Danny's mind reeled. Who were they? Did he mean the team - _his team_? His heart leapt into his throat at the prospect of seeing the members of his extended family from the lab. His joy was short-lived when his head snapped sideways as Shorewood's fist connected with his already painfully tender jaw.

"Wipe that fucking grin off your face, Messer!" Shorewood shrieked at him. "You did this. This was your fault! You must have sent them some kind of... code." Danny felt all the air rush from his lungs as Shorewood landed a punch right to his diaphragm, leaving him completely winded and gasping for breath once more as Shorewood continued to rant.

"I said I would contact them. _I_ would contact _them_!" he shouted. "They have no business being here. No business at all. This doesn't concern them! This is a private matter between myself and Lindsay Monroe!"

"You... you think that this is private?" Danny panted between gasps for air. "Your a fucking joke, Shorewood. You made all this public. You sent everyone the video of me and Lindsay..." Danny stopped to take a breath, his lungs wheezing with the effort. "You sent Mac the video of me..."

"Shut up, Messer!" Shorewood said, grabbing a piece of cloth and shoving it into Danny's mouth, causing his jaw to crack painfully, and his breathing to become even more laboured. "I'm so sick of listening to your whining and your lies! You make me sick, the way you used her to fulfil your own filthy perversions. You don't deserve her, and you can't have her!"

Shorewood reached into his pocket, pulling out a 9 mm gun, turning off the safety and setting his finger on the trigger. With a steady hand, Shorewood raised the gun and aimed directly for Danny's head.

**

* * *

**

Dun, dun, dun!

**Uh oh. Looks like things aren't going exactly to plan for the team or for Shorewood. Yikes!**

**Again, I apologize for keeping you waiting a bit longer than expected for this chapter, and I sincerely hope that it was worth the wait. I would love to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to leave me a review!**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Wow. What a great response to the last chapter! Thank you all so much! I really wasn't sure when I posted it whether it was going to be suspenseful enough, but I guess I shouldn't have worried.**

**Well, now we pick up where the last chapter left off, and I hope that the suspense and tension carries through. ****Thank you all for reading, and please enjoy Chapter 18.**

* * *

Mac made his way down the hall, his gun held tightly in his hands, his body tensed and at the ready. He could hear the light footfalls of the team behind him as they approached the end of the hallway, where there was a sharp corner leading to another small corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large and imposing door. He beckoned to the group to follow him to the door, the floorboards creaking under their weight as they moved as a single unit down the short hallway.

When they reached the door, Mac was dismayed to find that not only did it look imposing, it was also extremely sturdy, possibly several inches thick. The lock was a highly advanced key-card system, and not one that would simply pop open if they were to shoot the lock off, or smash it with the butt of a gun.

This door would take time. Time that they may not have. Sighing, Mac indicated for the commander of the SWAT team, a large and burly man named Johnson, to come over so they could examine the door and formulate a plan. While they were talking, Flack suddenly shushed the crowd surrounding the door.

"Wait, shh," he said, holding up his hand, begging for silence. "I can hear something coming from inside the room... is that... is that Danny?"

Mac leaned forward, pressing his ear against the door. Faintly he could make out muffled voices. One was clearly agitated and angry, and it sounded like Shorewood. Then he heard another voice that sounded hoarse and raspy, not unlike how Danny had sounded on the video he had received only a few short hours earlier.

He cringed and his heart sprang up into his throat as he heard the unmistakable sound of a gun being cocked and loaded. "Shit! We have to get in there, now!" he said to the team.

"Danny! Hang on, we're coming, man!" Flack shouted out, hoping against hope that Shorewood wouldn't pull the trigger, knowing that the NYPD was just on the other side of the door. "We're coming, Danny!"

Johnson rallied his SWAT team, two members bringing forward a two-man battering ram that had been brought along for just such an emergency. The team backed up, allowing the SWAT team to spring into action, methodically swinging the ram backwards and letting it slam forward into the door. Mac's hopes faltered when he saw that despite several attempts, the door had bent only slightly, and there were no signs of actual damage. It hadn't moved an inch.

"Fuck!" Flack said, running one hand through his hair and letting out a groan of intense frustration at their lack of progress. "Is there another way in? Do we know what this room is?"

Hawkes pulled a copy of the building's schematics from his pocket, smoothing it out on the floor in front of him. He examined the map closely before looking up at Flack, shaking his head. "Sorry, man," he said. "One way in, one way out. That room used to be a vault of some kind, for keeping dangerous chemicals and medications that needed to be kept out of reach of patients and unauthorized staff. There's no back door, no windows, nothing. Either we get in through this door, or we don't get in."

"Fuck!" Flack said, stamping his foot on the floor. "We have to get in there!" Turning, the team watched as the SWAT team continued to batter at the door, with no success. They were going to need to come up with another plan. And fast.

* * *

Lindsay ran down the narrow and empty streets toward the hospital, her lungs and legs burning with the exertion, but she didn't dare stop to catch her breath. Panting, she reached the gate leading to the hospital grounds. Once through the gate, she broke into a run, making her way to the massive and imposing front doors.

When she reached the doors, she pulled her service weapon from it's holster on her hip. As she pushed open the front door, she raised her weapon, her hands shaking slightly as her heart beat loudly in her chest. She moved forward, sweeping the area around her and listening carefully for any sound of movement ahead of her. Turning a corner, she saw one of the SWAT team posted at the bottom of a set of stairs. She sighed, knowing that Mac would have posted a sentry at every possible entrance and exit to ensure that no one got out - or in - without being seen.

She knew that she couldn't possibly take on the sentry, so she decided on another plan of action. Lowering her weapon, she walked over to him, making her steps loud and heavy so as not to spook him and have him accidentally fire on her, thinking her an intruder.

As she approached him, he turned, his weapon pointed at her chest. Seeing who it was that was coming up behind him, he lowered his weapon so that the barrel of his rifle pointed at the floor.

"What are you doing here?" he asked. "I didn't hear anyone call for you. You're supposed to wait until Taylor gives the signal. You need to turn around and head back outside, Miss."

Lindsay approached the man, deciding to try her luck at reasoning with him.

"Please," she said. "Please, my husband is up there. He's... he's the one that's been captured, and I... I need to see him. Please."

She saw him falter for a moment, deciding on whether or not her pleas were cause enough to disobey the orders he'd been given. Her heart sank when he shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Miss," he said. "I have strict orders. No one goes in or out without permission from either Taylor, Johnson, or Flack."

Lindsay closed her eyes, feeling a sense of panic rising up inside of her. _Didn't he realize what was at stake here?_ "Fuck your orders," she hissed. "I need to be up there."

"Miss, I don't want to hurt you, so please, don't give me a reason to do so," the sentry said. "Just turn around and go wait outside until you're called."

But Lindsay stood firm, unwilling to be dismissed. "No. I'm not moving, unless it's up those stairs. So either you let me go up there, or you get someone on the radio who has the authority to make that decision for you."

Giving her a wary look, the sentry spoke quickly and quietly into the radio attached to the shoulder of his Kevlar vest. Lindsay heard a faint static hiss as he received a response over the radio. His eyes snapped up at her, and he sighed before waiving her up the stairs.

"Turn left at the top of the stairs, then turn right, then another left. They're at the end of the hall."

"Thank you!" Lindsay called out over her shoulder as she bounded up the stairs, each step taking her closer to her husband.

* * *

Mac was pacing back and forth, clearly frustrated at the lack of progress being made on the door. "We need another way in," he said to the assembled group in front of him, which now included Stella, Adam and the rest of the SWAT team. They had examined the schematics, looking for any possible point of entry - air ducts, ventilation shafts - but there was nothing. The room was a tightly sealed fortress.

Suddenly, Mac stopped pacing, placing his hand to the side of his head as a voice buzzed in his ear. "What? No! Send her back outside!" he turned to the group. "Lindsay has left the van and she's in the building demanding to come up. I'm going to try to get the guard at the bottom of the main stairway to escort her back to the van."

"Mac, wait!" Flack said, grabbing Mac's shoulder and turning him around to look at him. "We need another way in... and Lindsay could be the key. He wants her. He wants to see her. Maybe... maybe he'll open the door for her."

Mac shook his head. "Don't be ridiculous, Don," he said.

"What other option to we have, Mac?" Stella piped up. "Shorewood isn't going to open the door for any of us. And we aren't exactly breaking any speed records for breaking down the door here. I say let Lindsay try."

Mac gazed back at the team around him. They all solemnly nodded their heads in agreement with Stella and Flack. Resigned, he let out a sigh. "Wait," he said into his radio. "Send her up."

"Yes sir," the voice crackled over the radio.

* * *

As the SWAT team continued its assault on the door, Mac and the team from the lab had all retreated back down the hallway to wait. After what seemed like an eternity, they heard the soft pad of footsteps as they came closer, until Lindsay appeared around the corner.

Seeing her teammates, Lindsay broke into a run, stopping only when Flack's arms reached out to grab her, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Jesus, Linds," he said. "You've been hanging around Messer too long. You forgot how to follow instructions."

Lindsay pulled back, giving him a small, sheepish smile. "I couldn't be that close and not be here. I just couldn't."

Flack smiled at her, before releasing her from his grip. He turned toward Mac, who walked forward, his face set in a firm, hard frown.

"When I give an order, I expect it to be obeyed," he said sternly. "And do not think for one minute that we won't be discussing this incident later."

Lindsay fought the urge to hang her head, instead meeting Mac's steady gaze with her own. "I'm not sorry," she said, her trembling voice betraying her nerves. "I need to be here, Mac. He needs me."

Mac shook his head, taking Lindsay's arm firmly in his and indicating for Hawkes, Adam, Stella and Flack to follow them as they made their way back down the short corridor toward the door. Mac motioned for the SWAT team to stop their attempts at breaking through and back away from the door, letting Lindsay move in close.

"What... what are we doing?" Lindsay asked, eyeing the beat up door warily.

"Lindsay, I want to make this perfectly clear. If there were any other way, I would never dream of putting you in this situation." He gave Flack a hard glare before turning back to Lindsay. "But if you want to get Danny back, then I'm afraid it means that you'll have to put yourself on the line."

Lindsay swallowed hard, once again eyeing the damaged door in front of her. "What do I have to do?" she asked in a small voice.

"Danny and Shorewood are on the other side of that door," Mac said. "This is the only way in, and as you can see, we've had no luck in getting through using force. So now, we need to try something different." Mac stopped and took a deep breath. "Lindsay, I need you to get Shorewood to let you in. You're the only one that he'll even consider listening to, and you are our only chance of getting in and getting Danny out safely."

Lindsay's eyes went wide. She turned to look questioningly at Flack, who gave her an apologetic nod of his head. "I'm sorry, Linds," he whispered. "We don't have time to try anything else. We have to get in there now."

Lindsay felt fear creeping up her spine, causing a chill to run through her body. So this was it. It was her or Danny. Either she agreed to put herself on the line, or Danny had no chance of getting out of that room alive. She wasted no time. She didn't need to think. She nodded her head. "I'll do it."

* * *

Danny stared down the barrel of Shorewood's gun, his eyes wide with fear. This was it. He was going to die. Shorewood was breathing hard, the gun shaking ever so slightly in his hand, his finger twitching on the trigger. He could hear them now, the team was outside the door, and he could faintly make out voices - voices that were so familiar to him. He heard Flack's voice above the others, reassuring him that they were coming to get him. He felt his eyes prickling with tears at the relief that swept through him.

Suddenly, the room seemed to explode with the impact of something hard and heavy connecting with the door. Shorewood jumped, startled by the sudden and loud noise from outside. After a few more heavy slams to the door, Shorewood seemed to collect himself, repositioning the gun and aiming it once more at Danny.

"I hope you're not counting your blessings just yet, Messer," he hissed. "Because the second they break through that door, you're a dead man. If one person from out there sets a single toe inside this room, I will blow your head off."

Danny shivered as Shorewood grinned down at him, his attention now focused on the loud crashing against the door, while the gun remained pointed at Danny.

Danny knew he had only a short time to take advantage of Shorewood's momentary distraction. He had to get free, he had to get himself loose somehow. He slowly began to twist and pull at the restraints holding down his arms. Biting down on the cloth in his mouth to smother his screams of agony, he felt the broken bones in his left wrist grind and shift against each other as his hand contorted itself to try to fit through the narrow opening. He felt a painful pop, and then he finally felt his hand begin to slide, slowly and agonizingly through the restraint. Panting, Danny had to resist the urge to cradle his injured arm against his body, needing to maintain the illusion of his restraints for a few moments longer.

Now that the worst was over, he slowly and methodically began to repeat the process on his right wrist, keeping one eye on Shorewood, who was still staring intently at the door while he muttered to himself. The right arm was slightly easier, as it was not swollen and already painfully injured when he began the process. But he knew that as his hand had slid from the restraint, he had dislocated his wrist, as it was now aching and he could feel the joint grinding against the bone.

Danny knew that it would only be a matter of time before the adrenaline wore off, and the pain in his wrists would begin to overwhelm him. He had to act now, and act fast. He took several deep breaths, steadying himself for what he was about to do. He had one chance - that was it. He had the element of surprise on his side. Once Shorewood realized he was free of his restraints, he would not hesitate to shoot him, and Danny had no doubt he would shoot to kill.

Danny tensed his body, preparing to strike, when the pummelling against the door stopped suddenly. The silence was deafening, both inside and outside the room. Danny listened. Why had they stopped?

Danny's heart was beating hard and fast as he realized that Shorewood's moment of distraction was over. He was slowly turning his attention back to Danny. As his eyes neared Danny's now unrestrained hand, Danny swore that his heart actually missed a few beats. He closed his eyes, waiting for the sound of a gunshot going off in his face. But what he heard made his heart beat fast in his chest. It was a sound he had been both hoping and dreading to hear for the past... God, however long Shorewood had kept him strapped to this goddamn bed.

It was the sound of his wife's voice.

* * *

Lindsay stood nervously outside the door. At Mac's urging, she leaned forward so that her face was almost pressed up against the door.

"David?" she said, tentatively.

"Louder!" Mac said. "He needs to hear you through the door."

Nodding, Lindsay leaned forward once more. Clearing her throat, she said in a loud clear voice, "David? It's Lindsay. I've come, just like you wanted."

She stood there, straining her ears for any sign from the other side of the door that she had been heard, that Shorewood had recognized her voice. She took a deep breath, and was about to call out again, when she heard a voice from the other side of the door.

"Miss Monroe? Is that really you?"

Lindsay let out a sigh of relief. "Yes, David. It's me. I'm here. Can you... can you please let me in?"

She listened again. She heard a slight shuffling sound coming from inside the room.

"I can't do that, Miss Monroe," Shorewood said, causing Lindsay's heart to sink. "You're not alone out there. I can't risk letting in anyone else."

"Please! Please, David," Lindsay pleaded. Mac hissed at her, getting her attention and pointing toward Hawkes. Lindsay nodded her understanding. "David, I promise, no one else will come in. Just me. And... and I've brought a doctor with me, and he would just like to make sure that Danny is alright. Please, can we come in?"

Silence met her words once more. She held her breath, waiting for a response from behind the door.

"David? Can you hear me? Please. I... I want to see you again. I really do. But I will only come if you let me bring the doctor with me."

"No weapons," Shorewood's voice came from inside the room. "Neither of you is to carry a weapon. If I see a weapon, Messer dies. If anyone else tries to come in, Messer dies. Do you understand me?"

Lindsay nodded her head, then realized that Shorewood couldn't see her. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat. "Yes. Yes, we understand. Don't we Dr. Hawkes?"

"Yes, Mr. Shorewood," Hawkes said, moving closer to the door. "No weapons. We promise."

"Miss Monroe will enter first," Shorewood said.

"No!" Hawkes protested. "I'm the doctor, and I will come in first, then Miss Monroe."

They waited once more. Finally, Lindsay released the breath she had been holding as a loud creak echoed down the hallway and the door swung upon a crack - just wide enough for one person to walk through.

Turning to look back at the group assembled in the hallway, Hawkes picked up the small medical bag he had brought with him and squeezed through the small opening in the door. As Lindsay was about to follow, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Flack standing behind her.

"I know you'll do the right thing," he whispered in her ear before releasing her. She nodded, then turned and disappeared behind the door.

**

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**

I know what you're thinking. Oh, my God. WTF? She's doing it again? Another cliffhanger?

**And I really do apologize for this one, but I promise you, it will be worth the wait. **

**I would love to hear your reactions to this chapter, so as usual, please don't be shy about leaving me a review. I really do love to hear from you!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews, and for your patience. I know, I know. Not only did I leave you on a cliffhanger, but it's been a few days since I left you dangling there, wondering what was going to happen. I'm so sorry about that!**

**In my defence, I've been suffering from a severe case of writer's block. There are a lot of logistics in this chapter, and although I knew what I wanted to happen, my brain just couldn't seem to put them into words. So I've struggled with this one. I can only hope that it's worth the wait.**

**Thank you once again for your amazing support and feedback. I'll shut up now and let you get on with reading Chapter 19.**

* * *

Danny held his breath as he listened to the conversation between Shorewood and his friends on the other side of the door. He watched the conflict on Shorewood's face as he contemplated the offer Lindsay had proposed - she would come in, but only if she could bring Hawkes with her. His stomach was tied up in knots. He wanted to see her, God, he wanted to see her so badly. But another part of him wanted her to stay safely on the other side of the door, as far away from Shorewood as possible.

His heart fluttered in his chest as Shorewood made his decision, swiping his key card through the slot and opening the door. Shorewood stood back, protected from the outside world by the bulk of the door, his gun still trained on Danny as Hawkes entered the room, glancing around, his gaze falling momentarily on Danny. He gave him an appraising once-over with a well-trained medical eye before turning his attention back to Shorewood as Lindsay came through the door.

She peered around, taking in the sterile environment until her eyes finally rested on Danny. She felt her throat constrict at the sight of him. He was broken and bruised, and even from where she stood across the room, she could hear his laboured breathing with each rise and fall of his chest. She wanted nothing more than to run across the room and caress his face, gently kissing away all the pain and suffering he'd been through, but she knew that Shorewood would never allow that.

She was jolted from her thoughts by the jarring sound of the heavy door slamming shut behind her. She turned her eyes toward the man standing behind the door. David Shorewood. She shivered uncomfortably as he unabashedly raked his eyes over her, smirking as he did so.

"I knew you'd come, Miss Monroe," he said. "I knew you couldn't stay away, that you couldn't deny the connection between us."

Lindsay had to fight to repress the shudder that threatened to ripple through her body at the way he leered at her. She swallowed nervously, trying to rid herself of the lump that had formed in her throat.

"Of course, I came, David," she said, her voice shaking slightly. "I... I really wanted to see you again."

His eyes lit up at her words, and he took a step toward her. Sensing his distraction, Hawkes moved to take a step toward Danny. But as focused as he was on Lindsay, Shorewood had kept an eye on Hawkes, who suddenly found himself on the wrong end of a loaded gun.

"Where are you going?" Shorewood asked.

"I just want to take a look at Danny," Hawkes said. "I'm here to make sure that he's okay."

Shorewood narrowed his eyes at Hawkes. "Aren't you one of them?" he asked. "I've seen you in the lab. You're not really a doctor, are you? Do you think I'm stupid? That I'd just fall for a trick like that?"

Hawkes shook his head, keeping his eyes trained on the barrel of Shorewood's gun. "No, Mr. Shorewood," he said. "I don't think that you're stupid. And this isn't a trick. I am a doctor. I worked as a surgeon for years before I began working for the crime lab."

"I've been looking after him, you know," Shorewood said, a hint of pride in his voice. "I've kept him stable, and made sure that he's had plenty of fluids."

"That's good, Mr. Shorewood," Hawkes said, inching over to the bed where Danny lay. "That's really good. We all appreciate what a great job you've done looking after Danny."

Shorewood smirked at him. "And while I was at it, I took it upon myself to cure him of a few... unsavoury habits," he said, gesturing to the electro-shock tools set up on the table beside Danny's bed. "And I think we're making good progress, doctor. Of course, I had hoped to have a few more rounds of treatments with him, but I guess they will have to wait, thanks to this unexpected visit from yourself and Miss Monroe."

"I'm sorry to have interrupted your work," Hawkes said, taking another small step toward Danny's bed. "But I thought that you wouldn't mind taking a break to see Miss Monroe. She was very eager to see you."

A smile broke out on Shorewood's face as he once again turned his attention to Lindsay. "I knew you wouldn't be able to wait," he said. "I've missed you, you know. And I know you've missed me too."

"Yes. I... I've missed you so much, David," she said, giving him a small, nervous smile. "Would you... would you mind if Dr. Hawkes took a look at Danny now? And maybe... maybe we can use this time to catch up with one another?"

Shorewood glanced quickly over at Hawkes. A sly grin broke out on his face as he nodded dismissively at Hawkes before turning back to Lindsay.

"Go ahead, doctor," he said. "But no funny business. I'm watching you."

Hawkes nodded his head, quickly backing up across the room and moving to the far side of Danny's bed, being careful not to turn his back on Shorewood whose gun was still pointed directly at him.

"You alright, man?" he whispered to Danny, as he reached down and pulled the rag from his friend's mouth. Danny didn't respond, his attention elsewhere as he kept his eyes on his wife and his captor across the room. "Danny?"

He watched as Danny nodded his head almost imperceptibly. "I'm going to take a quick look at you now, alright? Danny? Are you listening to me?"

Again, Danny nodded his head slightly, his focus still on the pair across the room. Hawkes sighed before opening his medical bag and digging around inside, taking out his stethoscope. He placed the buds in his ears before leaning down and undoing the top button's of Danny's shirt before pressing the cold flat disc against Danny's chest and listening carefully. His heart sank at the wheezing and rattling sounds that were amplified through the scope.

Sighing, he put the scope away and began a manual examination of his friend. He had examined hundreds, maybe even thousands of patients during his time working in the hospital, as well as during medical school. But he had never had to examine anyone under these circumstances - with a psychopath holding a loaded gun pointed directly at him. To make matters worse, Danny seemed to be in worse shape that Hawkes had initially feared.

Yes, his breathing was laboured, but Hawkes already knew that from watching the video Shorewood had sent. What he hadn't been expecting was the other damage to his friend's body. He was glad to see that Danny had managed to free his hands, but was concerned that during the process he may have done considerable damage to his already broken wrist. On top of that, his other wrist was clearly dislocated, and he had what appeared to be a broken jaw.

As Hawkes was finishing his examination of Danny, Shorewood had moved closer to Lindsay, walking up behind her and snaking one hand around her waist, pressing his face into her hair and inhaling deeply.

"I've waited so long for this moment," he whispered in her ear. "Too long. And you've been playing games with me, my dear. You've been unfaithful to me, letting that man over there - that _animal - _put his hands on you."

Lindsay's body tensed as Shorewood's grip on her waist tightened. "But I won't hold it against you, Lindsay," he continued, "As long as you know that from now on, you are mine, and mine alone. We are meant to be, you and I. I think you know that by now. Especially after all the trouble I've gone through to be with you."

Lindsay closed her eyes, her emotions threatening to get the better of her. She just wanted this to all be over, for her and Danny to go home together and forget this horrible nightmare. She took a deep breath before opening her eyes and turning her head to look at Shorewood, giving him a small smile.

"You've been so wonderful, David," she said. "The cards you sent, the flowers, everything was so beautiful. I... I loved them. Thank you."

Seeing that Shorewood's full attention was on Lindsay for the moment, Hawkes decided to take a chance. He reached into his medical bag, taking out his scalpel. Moving to the foot of the bed, he slowly and quietly began to cut through the straps that held Danny's legs immobile. Finally, when both legs were free, Hawkes placed the scalpel on the bed, moving his hand under Danny's shoulders and helping him to sit up. Danny let out a groan of pain as he moved, causing Shorewood's head to snap up, his hand moving to grasp Lindsay more firmly.

"What do you think you're doing, doctor?" he demanded.

"I'm... I'm just..." Hawkes stammered, panic rising up inside of him as he watched Shorewood's finger twitch on the trigger.

"We had a deal, David," Lindsay said. "Me for Danny. Don't you remember? I came to you, just like you wanted, and now you have to let Danny go."

The sharp bark of laughter coming from Shorewood startled the three CSIs. With a wild and manic glint in his eye, Shorewood moved forward, pushing Lindsay in front of him as he approached the table.

"I made no such deal," he said as he aimed the gun at Danny once more. "I said that I wanted you to come here, or Messer would die. I never said that I would let him go once I had you. What he has done to you - to us Lindsay - is unforgivable. And he needs to be punished."

"David, please, no!" Lindsay cried out, her brown eyes locking in on Danny's terrified blue ones. "Please! I'm here with you, I'm not going anywhere. Please, just let him go! For... for me."

"Come on, Mr. Shorewood," Hawkes tried to reason with him. "You have what you want. Lindsay came here of her own free will to see you. You have no further use for Danny."

"You're right," Shorewood said, nodding his head in agreement. "He has outlived his usefulness."

Taking another step forward, Shorewood pulled the trigger, the shot echoing loudly in the small room as Danny's body fell backward onto the bed.

"Danny! No!" Lindsay cried out as she struggled against Shorewood's vice-like grip on her waist. "Oh, God! Please! Danny!"

* * *

"Shit, Mac! Was that a gunshot?" Flack asked, his eyes wide with fear as they listened through the door. They heard Lindsay cry out and Flack's heart broke for her. He too had lost someone he loved. He had held Jess in his arms as her life slipped away from her, but he hadn't had to witness the shooting himself, powerless to stop it from happening.

"Johnson, we have to get through that door. Now!" Mac barked to the SWAT commander.

"We're working on it!" Johnson shouted back at him. Since Lindsay and Hawkes had entered the room, a small acetylene torch had been brought up from outside and the SWAT team was steadily working on cutting a hole in the door, trying to work as quietly as possible to avoid detection from within the room.

"I'd say another five, maybe ten minutes and we'll be inside."

"That's time we don't have right now, Johnson," Flack snapped back at him. "We need to be in there, now!" Moving away from the crowd around the door, Flack picked up his radio and started shouting into it. "How far away is that ambulance?" he asked. Without waiting for a reply from the other end, he continued. "Tell them to hurry it up, we've got a possible officer down at Pinehurst Mental Hospital, and we need them here ASAP."

He turned back to the crew working frantically at the door and ran his hands through his hair. He hoped to God that they weren't too late.

* * *

"Come on, Danny," Hawkes said, his hands splayed over the bleeding wound in Danny's abdomen. Judging from the bubbles coming from the wound and the fact that half of Danny's chest was no longer rising and falling as he struggled to breath, Hawkes could tell that the bullet had pierced one of his already battered lungs. "Come on, man. Don't do this. Hang on!"

He looked up at Lindsay, standing locked in Shorewood's tight grip, her face a ghostly pale and her wide brown eyes filled with tears as she watched Danny wheeze and struggle to catch his breath. "Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Ohmygod," she chanted to herself.

Shorewood let out a maniacal giggle at his handiwork. Lindsay turned to look at him, her brown eyes suddenly flashing with anger. "Why did you do that?" she screamed at him. "Why? I... I came here for you! You got what you wanted!"

"I don't like to share, Miss Monroe," Shorewood said, his voice low and menacing. "He got what he deserved." Turning to look down at Danny once again, he smirked. "Looks like it hurts, doesn't it? Do you think I should put him out of his misery?"

Hawkes looked up from where his bloodied hands were covering Danny's wound just in time to see Lindsay draw back her hand and crack Shorewood hard across the face. He released her from his grip and stumbled backward, one hand covering his face, his gun falling from his other hand and clattering to the floor in his shock.

Lindsay and Hawkes saw the gun hit the floor at the same time. In a split second, Hawkes weighed his options. If he removed his hands from Danny's chest, he risked having Danny bleed out on the bed. But the gun was closest to himself and to Shorewood, and if he didn't try for it, there was a good chance Shorewood would get his hands on it, and he could lose both Danny and Lindsay. His mind made up, he looked at Lindsay and nodded toward the gun on the floor before removing his hands from Danny's chest.

* * *

Everything felt like it was moving in slow motion. How had things suddenly gone so horribly wrong for him? He lifted his hand to his cheek, feeling the burning sting from where she had slapped him. She had slapped him! _Him_! He had gone through so much for her, and this was the thanks he got? How dare she!

His anger flaring up inside, he moved to raise his gun, but was shocked to find that it was no longer in his hand. Frantically, he looked around the room and he saw it lying on the floor just under the bed. He looked up in time to see Lindsay hit the floor, diving for the gun. He threw himself to the ground and reached out his hand to grab for it, feeling the cool steel brush against his fingers. But the other man - the _doctor_ - was faster. He had ducked under the table just seconds before Shorewood, and as he felt his own fingers grasp for the weapon, Hawkes closed his hand over it. But instead of picking it up, he gave it a hard shove across the floor toward Lindsay.

* * *

Danny lay back on the bed, his thoughts a jumbled mess. There was so much pain that it was difficult for him to focus on anything else. He could hear a familiar voice somewhere off in the distance. It sounded like Hawkes, but Danny couldn't quite make out what he was saying to him. It sounded like Hawkes wanted him to do something, wanted him to hang on to something, but his mind wouldn't focus. He felt hands on him, pressing on his chest. He wished whoever it was that was touching him would stop. It just made the pain so much worse.

He closed his eyes. He was exhausted. He just wanted the pain to stop. It was excruciating. It was getting harder to breath, and he could hear an annoying wheezing, whistling sound every time he breathed in. He heard angry words, his wife's voice shouting at someone. Then a clatter and for a moment there was silence.

Suddenly the hands on his chest were gone. Danny peeled open his eyes and looked around the room. Where had everyone gone? He was sure they had been there just seconds ago. Hawkes had been standing over him... and Lindsay? Where was she? He heard a scuffle going on somewhere close by, but he couldn't see anyone. What was happening?

He gathered his strength and lifted his upper body off the mattress. The room began to spin around him, and a wave of nausea rolled through his stomach as he collapsed back on the bed. He could barely catch his breath now, and the edges of his vision were starting to go dark. He just wanted to close his eyes and rest, hopefully waking up comfortable in his own bed with Lindsay sleeping soundly beside him.

As he lay there, his fingers brushed across something on the bed. Something long and thin and metal. He hissed as he felt a sharp prick on the tip of his finger. Bringing his hand up to his face he saw that his finger was bleeding. _What the fuck? _He slowly raised his head once again, looking down at the bed. Lying next to him, looking sharp and dangerous, was Hawkes's scalpel.

* * *

Hawkes froze. He had slid the gun to Lindsay, but before she could get a proper grip on it, Shorewood had lunged at her, landing on top of her as they struggled for control of the weapon. Hawkes pushed himself up on his hands and knees, keeping his eyes on the gun as Shorewood slowly overpowered Lindsay. She kicked at Shorewood, but he was in a frenzy, his eyes glazed over and his face set in a ferocious scowl.

As he finally pulled the gun from Lindsay's hands, he sat up, pointing the gun down at her, the barrel pressed against her forehead.

"I loved you!" he shrieked, "I loved you, and this is what you do to me? You little bitch! You filthy little whore!"

"David, please," Lindsay pleaded with him. "Please, don't do this."

"Shut up! Just shut your fucking mouth!" Hawkes winced as Shorewood brought the butt of the gun down against Lindsay's temple, knocking her out cold, a thin trail of blood trickling from the side of her head. Shorewood looked up and saw Hawkes crawling around the bed toward him. "Move, and she dies," he hissed. Hawkes stopped in his tracks, his eyes wide as he watched Shorewood lean forward so that his face was inches from Lindsay's. "You love Messer so much, you can join him in hell."

He sat back up, once again pressing the barrel of the gun against Lindsay's head. "Say hello to my wife for me," he whispered. "She was a whore just like you."

* * *

Flack paced back and forth in the narrow hallway, watching the painstaking progress the SWAT team was making. They were so close. They had three sides of the hole cut in the door, and were nearly done the fourth. It was a matter of moments before they could finally break through and get into that room.

He breathed a sigh of relief as he heard the sounds of sirens approaching, followed by screeching tires just outside the building. Moments later, he heard the clatter of footsteps as the paramedics made their way up the stairs.

"We got it!" he heard Johnson shout out. "We're going in!"

Flack bounded back down the hallway, pushing his way to the head of the group assembled in front of the door. The final side of the hole had been cut, and if everything went according to plan, all it would take would be one hard shove with the battering ram to push their way through.

He watched with baited breath as two SWAT members swung the ram backwards. There was a loud thud as it collided with the door. Everyone held their breaths... but there was nothing. No movement. No sound. Nothing.

"Fuck!" Flack bellowed as he punched the wall beside him. "Who makes these fucking doors? Jesus Christ!"

"Give it another hit!" Johnson shouted to his team, watching as the battering ram was moved into position once again. "On three. One! Two! Thr..."

His words were cut off by a loud creak that echoed down the hallway. Flack looked at the assembled group around him, confusion on their faces. They turned toward the door and watched as it slowly swung inwards on its hinges.

"Please, don't shoot!" came a familiar voice from inside the room.

* * *

Hawkes watched as Shorewood's finger twitched, poised over the trigger. Suddenly, there was a loud clanging noise, as if something heavy had been flung against the sturdy metal door. He saw Shorewood was momentarily distracted by the noise, and Hawkes used the opportunity to reach up onto the bed to retrieve the scalpel he had left there after cutting Danny's restraints. His hand searched blindly, but he couldn't find it. _Shit_! He was sure he'd left it there.

He heard excited voices from the other side of the door, and he knew that one way or another, it would all be over soon. He watched as Shorewood refocused himself on the task at hand. "Goodbye, Lindsay," he whispered as he moved to squeeze the trigger. But instead of the crack of the gun going off in his hand, Hawkes watched in shock as Shorewood's grip loosened on the gun, a low gurgling sound rising from his throat. Hawkes raised his head, peering over the edge of the bed to see Danny sitting up, one hand clutched over the wound on his chest, the other wrapped around the scalpel that was protruding from Shorewood's neck.

Shorewood dropped the gun, his hands desperately clutching at his neck, his fingers becoming slippery with the blood oozing from the wound. He turned his head and looked up at Danny in shock before he began to sway, sliding off of Lindsay as he collapsed in a heap on the floor.

Hawkes scrambled around the bed to check on Lindsay, ensuring that she was still breathing. Seeing the steady rise and fall of her chest, he quickly checked her pulse and nodded his head, satisfied that it was steady and strong.

He leapt to his feet, his hands moving to support Danny who was now a sickly pale colour from his own blood loss, wheezing hard after his exertion. "Shit, Danny!" Hawkes said as he grasped his friend firmly by the shoulders and helped to lay him back down on the bed, moving his hands to once again try to staunch the blood flow from his chest.

He saw Danny's lips moving, and he knew that he was trying to say something. He leaned forward, putting his ear to Danny's mouth, feeling the faint breath as he tried to get his words out.

"Is... is... she okay?"

Hawkes nodded, tears welling up in his eyes at his friend's total lack of concern for his own wellbeing, his oblivion to his own pain, and his devotion to his wife. "Yeah, man," he said. "Yeah, she's fine."

He watched as a smile spread across Danny's face as he closed his eyes. "Good," he whispered.

Hawkes packed Danny's wound with gauze from his medical bag and used his belt to hold it in place, wrapping it carefully around Danny's waist before cinching it in place. Satisfied that it would hold temporarily, he quickly darted across the room to where Shorewood lay motionless. He bent down and checked for a pulse. Finding none, he placed his head against the man's chest, listening for any sounds of breathing. But he heard nothing. Shorewood was dead.

Releasing a sigh of relief, Hawkes rifled through Shorewood's pockets until he found what he was looking for - a small electronic key card. He moved to the door and swiped the card through the slot. The lights on the mechanism changed from red to green and Hawkes grabbed the handle. Pulling the door open, he called out to the team outside.

"Please, don't shoot!" he said.

"Hawkes? That you?" Mac's voice came through the open doorway. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Hawkes said peering around the edge of the doorway. Mac and Johnson moved forward to help him shove the door open the rest of the way. "Shorewood's dead. But we need EMS in here immediately for Danny and Lindsay."

"Clear a path for the paramedics, people!" Johnson shouted down the hallway. The throng cleared, and as Hawkes turned back to his patients he heard the clatter of the gurneys as they were wheeled down the hallway.

"We've got a 33 year old male, gunshot wound to the chest, most likely with a collapsed right lung. He'll need to be intubated immediately," Hawkes called out to the paramedics as they entered the room. "He's suffered severe trauma to the thoracic cavity, broken jaw, left wrist broken, right wrist dislocated. He's suffered severe blood loss and been subject to high levels of electrical shock."

"Fuck! And he's still alive?" one paramedic muttered in disbelief as he approached Danny's bedside.

"Not for long if you don't move your ass!" Hawkes shouted. "Let's go! Move it!"

Hawkes supervised the first team of paramedics as they attended to Danny, carefully lifting him from the bed and placing him on the gurney.

"We can't intubate him," one of the medics said, examining Danny carefully. "His throat is too damaged. We could do more harm than good."

Hawkes grunted, shoving the medic out of his way before he grabbed the intubation kit and immediately began to insert the tube down Danny's throat with the aid of the laryngoscope, his years of practice giving him a steady hand. "I'm in! Bag him!" he shouted. One of the medics attached a ventilator bag to the end of the tube, squeezing regularly to ensure that Danny was getting enough air.

"Clear a path! They're coming out!" Hawkes called out, alerting the crowd in the hall to make way for the gurney to get through. As soon as they were out the door, he waived the second EMS team into the room. "32 year old female, trauma to the head, possible concussion," he said. The paramedics nodded their understanding before setting to work, placing Lindsay carefully on a spinal board and immobilizing her head as a precaution against any potential damage to her neck. Then they gently lifted the board and set it on the gurney, strapping her down securely before heading down the hall and out of the building.

Hawkes released a deep sigh and sat on the edge of the bed, surveying the scene around him. His gaze fell on Shorewood and he felt a sense of vindication rise inside of him as he stared down at the man's lifeless body.

"You okay, Doc?" Mac asked, as he entered the room.

"Hmm? Me? Yeah, Mac. I'm fine," Hawkes said, giving his boss a weary smile.

"From what I can tell, you did real good in here today, Sheldon," Mac said, patting Hawkes on the shoulder.

Hawkes let out a sharp laugh, feeling slightly giddy as the adrenaline that had been pumping through his system began to wear off. He grinned up at Mac. "Is it too late to ask for a transfer back to the morgue?" he asked as he stood to follow Mac from the room. The hallways was teaming with people, and they quickly caught up to Stella and Adam who were waiting for them at the end of the hall.

"Just waiting on you two before we head to the hospital," Stella said.

Hawkes looked around. "Where's Flack? I figured he'd be the first person in the room once the door opened."

"When he heard you calling out Danny's injuries, he started panicking," Stella said. "When they wheeled Danny down the hall, Flack said he was going to ride with him, and he wouldn't take no for an answer."

"What's going to happen to them, Sheldon?" Stella asked. "Are they going to be alright?"

Hawkes sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands.

"I think Lindsay's going to be fine," he said. "She might have a mild concussion, but other than that, she should be fine."

"And... and Danny?" Adam asked nervously.

Hawkes reached out, placing his hand on Adam's shoulder. "I can't answer that question, Adam," he said. "I just don't know."

**

* * *

**

*Sigh* Oh, God! You have no idea how good it feels to get this monkey off my back! LOL. Jeez. I've never had such a problem with getting my ideas on the page before. I hope that it doesn't come across in the story, but if it does, I offer you my sincerest apologies.

**I would absolutely love to hear back from you on this one, so please leave me a review and let me know what you thought!**

**And fear not, there is more to come... hopefully a lot more quickly this time! :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N: Okay, everybody take a deep breath and let it out slowly. *Whew* You can all rest a little easier, knowing that Shorewood is gone.**

**Thank you so much for your amazing responses to the last chapter. You really set my mind at ease, and I'm so relieved that the chapter turned out just as intense and suspenseful as I had hoped. Yay! **

**Oh, and on a side note - Holy Crap, people! Over 200 reviews? Already? Wow. Just... wow. I humbly grovel at your feet, wondering what I ever did to deserve such amazing readers who constantly surprise and delight me with such wonderful feedback. Thank you! Gold stars for everyone!**

**So, what happens next? Well, Shorewood may be gone, but the story is not over yet. Danny and Lindsay are both in need of some urgent medical attention, so don't relax too much just yet.**

**Now, I'll stop yabbering on. Here it comes... Chapter 20!**

* * *

Flack scrubbed his hands over his face as he paced the hallway outside the emergency room. He had stayed by Danny's side since they had wheeled him out of that room on the gurney, running alongside the paramedics as they raced through the building toward the waiting ambulance outside.

"Sir, we don't have room for any passengers in the ambulance," one young medic advised Flack as they carefully manoeuvred the stretcher down the flight of stairs to the first floor.

"Fuck you, kid," Flack snapped at him. "I'm not leaving him. And I'd like to see you try and stop me."

The kid had stared back at Flack with a startled look on his face. He turned to the other medic, who shrugged his shoulders. "Whatever," the older medic replied. "I don't want to waste time arguing. Just stay the hell out of our way."

"No problem," Flack replied. He helped the medics lift the stretcher into the back of the ambulance, hopping in next to Danny, sitting down on the bench running along one side of the ambulance and taking up residence at the head of the stretcher. He felt a jolt as the ambulance began to move, racing through the crowded Manhattan streets, sirens blaring and lights flashing. He looked down at Danny's face, taking in his battered appearance. "Come on, Danno," he whispered. "Don't you even think about dying, buddy." He looked up at the young paramedic who was monitoring Danny's stats while squeezing the ventilator bag every few seconds. Flack listened to the hiss of the air as it moved from the bag down into Danny's one functioning lung. "Hey, listen, kid," Flack said. "About inside on the stairs. I'm sorry if..."

He was interrupted by the blast of alarms going off, red lights blinking on the monitors attached to Danny's chest.

"Shit!" the kid said. "He's flat-lining! Craig, I need you back here."

The older medic emerged from the front of the ambulance as the driver continued to manoeuvre through traffic. Flack pressed himself up against the wall, trying to stay out of the way as the two men worked on his friend.

"No pulse," Craig said. "Starting compressions."

Flack watched as Craig began to press down on Danny's chest, trying to get his heart pumping again. His eyes flitted to the screen mounted above the stretcher where a flat, green line glowed menacingly back at him, showing that the compressions were not having the desired effect.

"Hey, you! Tough guy," the kid said, looking up at Flack.

"What?"

"Take the ventilator bag," he said, nodding at the round plastic bubble in his hand. "I need you to squeeze this bag once every five seconds, got it? Don't stop unless I tell you to."

"Got it," Flack said, reaching out and placing his hand on the bag. He counted to five in his head and squeezed, his pulse racing in his ears as he watched the kid pull out a portable defibrillator. Craig stopped his compressions, ripping open Danny's shirt and exposing his chest. The kid placed a small amount of gel on the paddles, rubbing them together before placing them on Danny's chest.

"Charging," he said, watching as Craig charged the machine. "And... clear!" Flack pulled his hand away from the ventilator, watching in horror as Danny's lifeless body convulsed on the bed, eerily reminiscent of the scene he had witnessed on the video in Mac's office.

"No pulse," Craig said, placing two fingers on Danny's neck. "Again!"

The kid leaned forward, placing the paddles back on Danny's chest. "Charging. And... clear!"

They repeated this process several times, each time increasing the voltage of the shocks to Danny's heart. Flack clenched his hands tightly on his lap, his fingernails digging into the flesh of his palms as he watched tensely, hoping to see some change on the monitor.

Finally, the alarms stopped blaring and he heard it... the blessed sound of Danny's heart as it began to beat on it's own once again. It was slow, and it was faint. But it was there.

"Hey, man. You alright?" the kid said, reaching out and beginning to squeeze the ventilator bag once again. He looked up at Flack and smirked. "It helps if you breathe, you know?"

Flack gave the kid a nervous grin while releasing the breath he hadn't even been aware he had been holding. He nodded down at Danny. "He gonna be alright?"

The kid looked down at his patient, shaking his head. "I hope so," he replied.

Finally, the ambulance came to a screeching halt outside the doors of the emergency room. The back doors were flung open wide as a team of hospital staff helped lower the gurney to the ground, quickly wheeling it through the doors and into the hospital, Flack running along behind the crowd. They turned and wheeled Danny into the ER and Flack watched through the window as a swarm of doctors and nurses descended upon his best friend. Finally, someone came to the window and snapped the blinds shut, cutting Flack off, leaving him standing alone in the hallway, hoping like hell that Danny would be okay.

* * *

Lindsay's head hurt. A lot. She felt as though her skull had been split in two, and tiny little men with jackhammers were now pounding away on her poor, defenceless brain.

She lay absolutely still, not wanting to move a muscle and cause her head to ache even more. But she knew that Shorewood was still in the room, still looming over her. She could feel the pressure of the gun barrel still pressed against her forehead, his finger poised over the trigger, ready to end her life.

She willed herself not to cry, but to be strong. She wanted desperately to open her eyes, but she didn't want the last thing she saw in this world to be Shorewood's beady little eyes boring into her soul. So she kept her eyes closed, casting her mind back to a happier time.

She thought of the day Lucy was born, all the pain she had been in, all the worry and stress she had been through that day. But through it all, she had had Danny. She thought of how he had stayed by her side, holding her hand, letting her squeeze his fingers until she was sure she had pulverized most of the bones in his hand. She thought of how he had gently wiped her sweaty bangs off her forehead before pressing a delicate kiss to her face, whispering in her ear how proud he was of her, how much he loved her. And she thought of the look of pure love and pride on his face as he held their tiny daughter in his arms for the first time.

As her memories played over and over again in her mind, a small smile graced her lips. "I love you, Danny," she whispered.

"Doctor?" an unfamiliar voice rudely interrupted her thoughts. "Doctor, she's waking up."

She felt a hand on her wrist and suddenly she felt her eyelids unceremoniously lifted up, a bright light piercing her retinas. She winced, quickly squeezing her eyes shut once more, her heart pounding in her chest. _What the hell was going on here? Who were these people? _

She listened carefully. She could hear soft footsteps and a quiet, steady beeping noise. Hushed voices talked a short distance away, one of them sounding familiar. She strained her ears for Shorewood's voice, listening for his distinctive, skin-crawling laugh. But she couldn't hear him anymore. She could no longer feel the cool steel of Shorewood's gun against her skin, nor the sickening weight of him as he straddled her body, pinning her to the floor.

"Pulse is good," said a deep male voice. "Pupils equal and reactive to light. She's coming around."

_Oh, God. Why won't these people stop talking? _Lindsay asked herself.

"Lindsay?" a familiar voice whispered gently in her ear. "Lindsay, I know you can hear me. Come on. Open your eyes. You need to wake up."

"Sheldon?" she asked, cracking her eyes open minutely, squinting up at the face of her friend who was leaning over her, a smile playing on his lips. "What... where...?" she stammered, her thoughts in complete disarray. Hawkes was here? He was alright? He was alright! But where was Shorewood? Where was...

"Danny!" she panted, sitting straight up in bed. "Oh, ow! Ow!" she winced, gently placing her hand to the side of her head, feeling the bulky bandage that covered her temple.

"It's okay, Lindsay," Hawkes comforted her, gently removing her hand from her head and lifting the bandage, inspecting her wound. "You're alright. You're safe. Shorewood's gone."

"Thank God!" Lindsay breathed as she lowered herself slowly back down onto the hospital bed, closing her eyes and resting her hand over her eyes. "Thank God."

She lay there for a moment, basking in the feeling of relief that flooded her body. For the first time in days, she felt herself start to relax, to let the tension that had built up inside her body slowly begin to ebb away from her. But something wasn't right. She thought about Hawkes's words; _You're alright. You're safe. Shorewood's gone._

But what about Danny? Why hadn't he said that Danny was alright too? She peeled open her eyes, staring up at Hawkes. "Where's Danny?" she asked softly.

Hawkes sighed, and she saw a flicker of worry pass over his features, although he tried to hide it. "Sheldon, please. Where's Danny? What happened?"

"What's the last thing you remember, Lindsay?" he asked softly.

"I... I remember Shorewood had his hands on me," she said, "He... he smelled my hair." She shuddered at the memory, her voice shaking as she willed herself to remember. "He... pointed a gun at... at Danny. Oh, God, Sheldon. He shot Danny!" She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her cheeks as she saw the scene unfold in her mind's eye; Danny's body absorbing the impact of the bullet before he slumped back on the bed.

"Shh. Lindsay, it's okay," Hawkes soothed her. "It's okay. Come on, stay with me. What else do you remember?"

She opened her eyes, her vision clouded by the tears that still flooded her eyes. "I remember he dropped the gun... and I tried to get it from him, but he was too strong. I... I tried, Sheldon. I tried so hard, but he was so much stronger than me."

She choked on a sob as she concentrated, remembering the terrifying moments spent inside that horrible room with Shorewood. "And then he was on me, and he took it... he took the gun and he..." she sobbed, "I felt it against my forehead, Sheldon. He was going to kill me."

Hawkes sat on the edge of the bed holding Lindsay's hand in his. Her tear-filled eyes looking to him for an explanation. "He was going to kill me," she whispered. "What happened?"

Hawkes gave her a small smile before he began explaining to her how Danny had managed to summon the last of his strength to save her, plunging the scalpel into Shorewood's neck as he had been about to pull the trigger. He watched her face crumple at the realization of what Danny had done for her, and how much it had cost him.

"Oh, God!" Lindsay wailed, pulling her hand from Hawkes's grasp and covering her face, rolling onto her side, her body shuddering as she sobbed. "Oh, God! Why? Why did this have to happen?"

"He wanted to protect you, Lindsay," Hawkes explained. He felt a painful lump in his throat as he thought back to the last moments he had spent with Danny in that room, how his sole concern had been for the safety of his wife. "You mean everything to him. You know that, right? He would do anything for you."

"But... but I was supposed to save him!" Lindsay cried.

"And you did, Linds," Hawkes said softly. "You did. Shorewood would have killed him if you hadn't been brave enough to put yourself on the line the way that you did. You have to know that, Lindsay. You did save him, I promise you."

She rolled over onto her back and looked up at Hawkes with bleary, tear-filled eyes. "Please tell me, Sheldon," she whispered. "Is he going to be alright?"

* * *

Flack walked down the hallway toward the waiting room. He had heard the commotion in the ER as Lindsay had been brought in a few minutes behind Danny, but he had needed a few moments alone with his thoughts before he went to join the rest of the team.

He had just witnessed his best friend fight for his life in that ambulance. He had seen him in his most helpless moment, unable to breath on his own, his heart unwilling to beat, and yet he kept on fighting. Flack shook his head. For once in his life, he was glad that his best friend was such a stubborn, pig-headed, son-of-a-bitch. He just hoped that he had it in him to keep fighting for a little while longer, giving the doctors and nurses a chance to help him.

He had watched the ER doors swing open, the loud clatter of the wheels on the linoleum floor as Danny had been wheeled into a nearby elevator, heading upstairs for emergency surgery to repair the tear in his lung. Flack heaved a sigh as the elevator doors closed, turning to glance back into the emergency room, seeing the blood soaked sponges littering the floor from where the medical staff had worked to stabilize Danny before transporting him to the operating room.

He took a deep breath and started walking down the long, quiet hallway toward the waiting room. As he walked through the doorway, Mac, Stella and Adam looked up at him, Stella stepping forward and pulling him into a tight hug.

"Hey, Don," she said rubbing his back. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good," he said, pulling away from her, surreptitiously wiping at his eyes. He looked around the room. "Where's Hawkes?" he asked, noticing the absence of the former ME.

"He went to check on Lindsay," Mac replied. "The doctors seemed to think that she would be coming around soon, and Sheldon wanted to be there when she woke up. Figured she would have a lot of questions, and he thought she might be less frightened and confused if someone could tell her what happened right away, instead of leaving her guessing."

Flack nodded his head. "Yeah. Yeah, that's good."

"How... how's Danny?" Adam asked timidly.

Flack sank down into a nearby chair, stretching his legs out in front of him, shaking his head sadly. "I don't know," he said quietly. "He flat-lined in the ambulance."

"What? Oh, God!" Stella gasped.

"Yeah, but they brought him back," Flack continued, the stress and fatigue of the past few days finally catching up with him as he leaned back against the headrest. "They just took him up to the OR a few minutes ago, so..."

"So we'll know one way or another in a few hours," Mac said.

* * *

Lindsay let out a weary sigh. It had been a long night, filled with waiting. She had waited for the technician to arrive and take her for a CT Scan of her head, then she had waited for the results. Now she sat in her hospital room waiting to find out if Danny had made it out of surgery.

"Hey, Linds?"

She turned at the sound of Flack's voice in the doorway. She gave him a weary smile. "Hey, Don," she said.

"Hey, I'm not bothering you am I?" he asked, taking a tentative step into the room. "I can come back later if you want some time to yourself."

Lindsay smiled as she shook her head, wincing at the throbbing pain in her head at the slight motion. She saw a look of concern on Flack's face, as she raised her hand up to her head, gently touching the bandage.

"No, please," she said. "I'm going crazy sitting here all by myself."

"You okay?" Flack asked, taking a seat in the chair at her bedside.

"The doctor said that the CT Scan was clean - as far as she can tell, I don't have a concussion, but they're keeping me here for at least 24 hours for observation."

"That's good, Linds," Flack said, smiling at her as he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. "But that's not what I meant."

Lindsay hung her head, her bottom lip beginning to quiver, her eyes welling up with tears.

"Oh, Lindsay," Flack said, moving to sit on the edge of her bed, wrapping his arm gently around her shoulder and pulling her into a hug. "I'm so sorry. I really am. I wish that there was something I could do to make it better for you two."

"I just want him back," she whispered. "I'm so tired of feeling like I'm going to wake up one morning, and he's going to be gone. That something is going to happen to take him away from me. I just want to go home, and wake up in bed with him and know that everything is going to be alright."

Flack sighed. He knew the horror of losing the person you loved most in the world, and he wouldn't wish something so awful on his worst enemy. He desperately wanted to give Lindsay some words of comfort, but he knew as well as she did that his words would ring hollow in her ears, empty promises with nothing to back them up.

* * *

A few hours later Lindsay woke from a peaceful slumber. She looked around, taking a moment to realize where she was. She smiled as she saw Flack sitting in a chair by the door reading a magazine. He looked up as he noticed she was awake, smiling at her.

"Hey," he said. "Did you sleep alright?"

"Yeah," she replied. "Yeah, I did."

"Good, I'm glad," Flack replied, closing his magazine and standing up. "You up for some company?" he asked, grinning at her. "Because you've got a special delivery."

"What?" she asked, cocking her head to the side in confusion. Flack grinned at her before turning and opening the door. The pitter patter of little feet could be heard out in the hallway. A smile broke out on her face as she saw her daughter come skipping into the room, a big purple balloon clasped tightly in one chubby little hand, her teddy bear in the other. Flack stood in the doorway, giving mother and daughter a moment of privacy together.

"Mama!" Lucy squealed loudly as she saw Lindsay across the room.

"Lucy!" Flack admonished the little girl gently, a smile on his face. "What did your Nona and Papa tell you about hospitals?"

"Be quiet in dem p'ease," Lucy said, placing her finger over her lips and grinning. "Shhh. Sowee."

"That's okay, Lucy," Flack said, winking at Lindsay. "Now, do you want to try again?"

Lucy nodded her head eagerly. She turned and beamed at her mother. "Hi Mama!" she said in a stage whisper as she ran to the side of Lindsay's bed, scrambling to crawl up onto the mattress.

"Hey, Lucybear!" Lindsay said, reaching out and pulling Lucy up beside her, letting her get settled on her lap.

"Maria came by and dropped her off about 20 minutes ago," Flack explained. "She's been out in the hall colouring with Adam, waiting for you to wake up. Maria's gone to wait with Joe up at the OR, and they'll come down to see you in a bit. But they wanted to give you two a little bit of time together."

Lindsay smiled at Flack, grateful that he had thought to call Danny's parents. She turned her attention back to Lucy as he settled himself back down in his chair by the door.

"Mama, dis for you," Lucy said, holding out the balloon, a proud smile on her face. "I pick'ded it."

"Oh, thank you, sweetie!" Lindsay said. "And it's my favourite colour!"

"It's blurple," Lucy informed her mother, nodding her head sagely.

"It's beautiful," Lindsay said, pulling Lucy close and pressing a kiss to her forehead, running her fingers through her soft, blond curls.

"Oh, no!" Lucy gasped, pointing up at the bandage covering Lindsay's temple. "Mama gots an ouchie?" she asked, her big blue eyes full of concern.

"Yes, sweetie," Lindsay replied, stroking her little girl's hair reassuringly. "Mommy's got a little ouchie. But I'm going to be fine, okay, Luce?"

Lucy nodded her head, cuddling into Lindsay's side. "Daddy kiss it all better?" she asked as she gently fondled her teddy's ears.

"No, honey," Lindsay said, her eyes filling with tears as she choked back a sob. "Daddy didn't kiss it all better yet."

"Why?" Lucy asked, turning to look up at her mother. "Why not, Mama?"

Lindsay struggled to keep it together as she looked down at Lucy. Her daughter stared back up at her with Danny's blue eyes. Lindsay quickly wiped at her tears with the back of her hand, trying to stifle the sobs that were threatening to escape.

"Well, honey, Daddy has an ouchie too," she explained to Lucy, gently stroking her cheek.

Lucy nodded her head slowly, clutching her teddy to her chest. "Mama all better?" Lucy asked.

"Yes, honey," Lindsay replied. "Mommy is getting all better."

"And Daddy too?" she asked.

Flack watched as Lindsay struggled with her emotions, searching for an answer for her daughter's question.

"Hey, Lucy," Flack said, moving quietly from his place by the door and standing beside Lindsay's bed. "You thirsty? You wanna come with Uncle Don and we'll go get you some juice?"

He smiled as the little girl nodded her head eagerly. "Ya, p'ease!" she said, taking his offered hand and hopping down from the bed. "Bye Mama!"

"Thanks, Don," Lindsay said, giving him a watery smile.

"No problem," he said, leaning down and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll get her something to drink, and we'll colour or something out in the hall. Just let me know when you want me to bring her back in, okay?"

Lindsay nodded her head, giving him a watery smile. "Thanks. I will."

"Alright, boss," he said as he picked Lucy up and carried her out the door and out of sight. "What do you want to drink?"

"Chuklit milk!"

"Lucy, I know that your Mommy and Daddy don't let you have chocolate milk. Are you trying to get me in to trouble?"

"Yeah!" Lucy giggled.

Lindsay smiled as she listened to the conversation between Flack and her daughter, their voices fading out as they moved farther down the hall.

She sighed as she leaned back on her pillows, taking deep calming breaths and pulling a tissue from the box at her bedside, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. She closed her eyes and prepared herself to wait once more for news on Danny's status.

"Mrs. Messer?"

She opened her eyes and looked at the man standing in the doorway.

"Sorry to disturb you," he said. "I'm your husband's surgeon, Dr. Howard. May I come in?"

Lindsay sat up straighter in her bed, leaning forward eagerly. "Yes, oh my God," she said. "Please... is he... how is he?"

Dr. Howard came in and sat on the chair at her bedside, giving her a reassuring smile.

"Your husband came through the surgery beautifully," he said. "But he's not out of the woods yet. I won't lie to you, Mrs. Messer. His injuries were substantial, and although we were able to repair the hole in his lung, there is still a lot of damage, caused by what I understand was a severe allergic reaction."

Lindsay nodded her head, tears in her eyes as she waited for him to continue.

"At the moment, he's stable," he explained. "He's still not able to breath on his own yet, so we've got him hooked up to a ventilator. He's in intensive care where he will remain, fully sedated, until his lungs have had a chance to heal and I'm confident that his body can handle the stress of breathing without assistance."

He looked at Lindsay, eyeing her carefully before continuing. "From what I understand from your friends, he's a fighter. Am I right?" he asked.

Lindsay smiled, nodding her head. "Yes, he is," she whispered, wiping the tears from her cheeks with the backs of her hands.

"And judging from the beautiful little girl I just met in the hallway, he's got a lot to fight for." He smiled at Lindsay, reaching out and taking her hand in his. "I have every confidence that he is going to pull through this. But it's not going to be easy. There is a long road to recovery ahead of him, including surgery to repair the damage to his wrist, and his lungs will be very succeptible to infection, meaning he may be on medication for the rest of his life. I also expect him to have some psychological issues to contend with. He's going to need a lot of love and a lot of support to get through the next few months."

"Well he's got me and Lucy," she said, "And his parents will want to help, as well as our extended family from work. We'll all be there to help him through this."

Dr. Howard smiled at her, giving her hand a little squeeze before standing up.

"You ready to go and see him?" he asked, smiling back at her.

"You bet your ass I am," she replied.

**

* * *

**

So? What do we think? I know, no Danny in this chapter (well, at least no _conscious_ Danny). But don't worry, I'm getting to the good stuff. I just felt that there were a lot of emotions that needed to be dealt with before moving forward with the story.

**So, although it is kind of a cliffhanger, it's not really, right? LOL. **

**I would love to hear back from you, so please, don't be shy about leaving me a review or sending me a quick PM to let me know what you thought!**


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: You guys rock. You really and truly do. Thank you all so much for your encouragement for the last chapter. I really appreciate the time you each take to let me know your thoughts and feelings on this story. **

**I won't blather on here in an Author's Note, I'll just let you get on with the important business of reading... so please sit back and enjoy Chapter 21. :)**

* * *

"An dis?"

"That's blue."

"Bwoo. An dis?"

"That one's green."

"Dween. An dis?"

"Pink."

"Peenk," Lucy parroted, returning the crayon to the pile on the floor before carefully selecting another and holding it up for Adam to examine. "An dis?"

"Oh, that's a tough one, Lucy," Adam said, pretending to think hard. "Jeez. I don't know... I think its... um..."

"Blurple!" Lucy cried, smiling up at Adam.

"That's right! Good girl, Lucy," Adam said, beaming down at the little girl on his lap.

"Pwetty?" she asked, holding up the picture she and Adam had been working on for the past twenty minutes.

"It's beautiful," Adam replied. "Very colourful."

"Tank yoo," Lucy replied.

"Is that for your Mommy?" he asked.

Lucy shook her head vigorously, her blond curls bouncing around her face. "Nope."

"No? Then who is it for?"

"Daddy," Lucy replied, placing her work of art back down on the floor and admiring it. Adam's felt a lump forming in his throat at Lucy's innocence. She turned on his lap and looked up at him with wide blue eyes.

"Div Daddy," she said, holding up the picture. "P'ease?"

"Um..." Adam looked around the waiting room, his eyes searching for anyone who might be able to help him out of this situation. He cursed himself for volunteering to stay with Lucy while the rest of the team went off to see Danny in intensive care. He had absolutely no idea what he was supposed to tell her about why she couldn't giver her daddy his picture right now. "Uh... sorry, Lucy. But, um... your daddy is sleeping right now. Maybe you can see him later."

Lucy looked up at Adam, her face set determinedly as she pointed to her picture. "Now p'ease. Daddy."

Adam 's mind was racing as he tried to think of something he could use to distract Lucy.

"Hey, why don't we make a picture for your mommy too?" he said, smiling hopefully down at Lucy. His heart sank as he saw her bottom lip begin to quiver and her eyes fill with tears.

"P'ease. Daddy!" she whimpered.

Adam loved kids, and he especially loved Lucy. But there had always been someone else around to take her when she started to cry, and he felt helpless as he watched the tears begin to fall down her cheeks, her mouth opening to release a loud wail.

"Daddeeeee!"

_Oh crap. Shit. What do I do? _Adam asked himself. He took a deep breath and tried to remember what he'd seen Danny do when Lucy started crying. He wrapped his arms around Lucy, standing up and cuddling her into his chest, rubbing her back gently as he whispered what he hoped were soothing words.

"Hey, it's okay. It's okay, Lucy," he said, bouncing up and down lightly on the balls of his feet. "You're okay." He looked down as Lucy's wails for her daddy seemed to increase in volume, her face red as huge tears streamed down her face. "Shh. Shh. We can go see your daddy soon, okay. But he's sleeping, and we need to be quiet, Luce. Shh. Shh."

As he started pacing around the room with Lucy still in his arms, his eyes fell upon her battered and worn teddy bear sitting on the top of her diaper bag. _Thank God_, he thought as he reached down and picked the bear up, holding it up for Lucy to see, making the bear dance in midair.

"Don't cry, Lucy," he said in what he hoped was a funny and completely non-threatening voice. "I'm your bear. Be happy!"

Lucy looked up at Adam before turning her attention to her bear, reaching out and taking him in her arms. Clutching the bear to her chest and stroking his matted fur with one hand, she began sucking on the thumb of her other hand, her cries trailing off into soft whimpers.

Adam breathed a sigh of relief. He was about to sit down when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Hey, Adam," Flack said as he rounded the doorway. "That you making all that noise? What, you lose your blankey again?"

Adam glared at Flack, jiggling Lucy gently in his arms. "It wasn't me, Flack," he said. "It was Lucy. She wants to see her D-A-D-D-Y."

He watched Flack's expression soften as he gazed down at Lucy who was now snuggled cosily into Adam's chest, resting contentedly as she cuddled her bear.

"Poor kid," Flack said, gently stroking her hair. He let out a sigh as he moved to sit down.

"How, um, how's he doing?" Adam asked as he took a seat beside Flack, adjusting Lucy on his lap.

Flack scrubbed his hands over his face. "He's... alive," he said. "But he's pretty rough, Adam. He looks like hell, and Linds says that the doctor told her that he's in for one hell of a long and painful recovery if -" Flack shook his head, correcting himself, "- no, _when _he wakes up."

Adam looked sadly down at Lucy, who was starting to doze off in his arms.

"Its just so unfair," he said. "I mean, it feels like it was only a little while ago when we were all sitting in this same room, waiting to hear whether he was going to make it after the bar shooting."

"I know," Flack said quietly. "Him and Linds, they've been through so much. But it seems like whenever things are going good, something bad's gotta happen to 'em. And not just regular bad, like what happens to other people, but horrible, awful, life-altering, traumatizing bad. It isn't fair. And it really sucks. But I know Danny, Adam. He'll be back on his feet in no time, pestering you in the lab and pissing you off, just like old times."

Adam smiled. "I really hope so."

The two men sat in contemplative silence, both of them lost in their thoughts, the only sound in the room the soft whisper of Lucy breathing as she slept.

* * *

Lindsay sat at Danny's bedside, her hand gently laid over his, mindful of the IV that was carrying the much-needed medication to her husband's battered body. She gently traced her fingers over the bandage that was carefully wrapped around his wrist to help in the healing of the dislocated joint. She looked across his body at his other hand, encased in a protective cast that had been in place since the surgery he'd undergone to mend the bones that had been broken by Shorewood.

She sighed, looking up at Danny's face. No change. He had been laying in this bed, day after day, with no change for almost two weeks. She had come to sit by his side everyday, arriving long before visiting hours officially began, and leaving long after the nurses usually allowed visitors to stay. She knew them all by name, knew their schedules, knew which ones were the most sympathetic to her plight. She knew that she was taking advantage of their kindness, but she didn't care. She needed to be here when he woke up. She needed hers to be the first face he saw.

She rested her forehead on the mattress beside Danny's hand. She didn't know how much longer she could carry on like this. She was exhausted and anxious. She felt that if she looked up the word stress in the dictionary, she would find her own face staring back at her from the page.

She missed her husband. Over the past few days, she had come to realize exactly how much Danny meant to her, and how much she needed him in her life. She had been afraid of losing him in the past, but actually having to face the realities of day-to-day life without him by her side had been infinitely more difficult than she had ever imagined.

She missed his smile, his voice, and how he always knew exactly what to do when she got herself all worked up over the little things. When she would start stressing out, she could always rely on him to take her in his arms and hold her, letting her vent her frustrations, helping her to relax. She missed his laugh, how it would start out in a deep rumble in his chest before any sound came out of his mouth. She loved listening to him laugh when they lay in bed together at night, her head resting on his chest.

She missed his affectionate teasing, the way he would flash her a cheeky wink and a boyish, lopsided grin when he was caught was something that never failed to make her heart do little flip flops in her chest. She missed the way he still made her blush, made her feel desired, even after two years of marriage and having a child together. She missed his warm body beside hers in bed, his arms wrapped protectively around her, chasing away her bad dreams and making her feel safe and secure and loved. She felt a deep sense of shame at the memory of their last night together at home before Danny had been taken. She was overwhelmed with guilt as she recalled how he had spent the night sleeping on the livingroom floor before moving to the armchair, unwilling to let her sleep alone when she had refused to sleep in their bed.

She cast her mind back to the locker room, moments before she had found the note Shorewood had stuffed in her locker. He had jokingly said that she couldn't live without him. She made a mental note to make sure she never let herself forget how right he was.

And she knew that Lucy missed him too. She had brought Lucy in to see Danny a few times since he had been moved out of intensive care and into his own room, but it was hard. Lindsay couldn't bear the looks of confusion on her little girl's face as she tried to understand why Daddy wasn't waking up, and why he wouldn't play with her. Danny was such an attentive father, always making time for Lucy. No matter how tired he was, or how many other demands there were for his time, he would never hesitate to drop what he was doing when he knew that his Lucy needed him. With a heavy heart, Lindsay had patiently explained to her daughter that Daddy was sleeping because he had a big ouchie. A soft smile spread across her face as she remembered how Lucy had volunteered to kiss him better. Lindsay had held Lucy aloft over Danny's sleeping form, watching as the little girl leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Danny's forehead.

"All better. Daddy up!"

Lindsay had fought to hold back her tears when Lucy looked up at her expectantly, hoping for an instant reaction from Danny. When he hadn't responded, Lucy had started to fuss, demanding to know why Daddy wasn't waking up. She had squirmed in Lindsay's grasp, kicking and screaming, and Lindsay had broken down, sobbing into Flack's arms as Mac had stepped in, offering to take Lucy to the park across the street to play on the swings.

She felt like a terrible mother, like she had failed Lucy. But seeing her little girl so upset, and being unable to give her a satisfactory explanation that her two-year-old brain could comprehend, was killing her. Seeing the toll that everything was taking on Lindsay, the team had rallied around the Messer family, pitching in when and where they could. Lucy always had plenty of people around her to play with her and keep her entertained, and someone always came in at some point during the day to check on Lindsay, bringing her a warm meal and a cup of coffee. Stella had brought her a stack of magazines and books to read, while Adam had brought Lindsay's iPod for her, after loading it up with songs that he thought might cheer her up.

She smiled, grateful for her friends, for their unwavering support. But she knew that she couldn't carry on this way much longer. She couldn't shirk her responsibilities as a mother or her responsibilities at work any more. Although Mac was being more than lenient regarding the time she was taking out of the office, she knew that eventually she would have to go back to work, regardless of whether Danny ever woke up or not.

She held back her tears as yet another wave of sadness rolled over her. She closed her eyes and pressed a soft kiss to the back of Danny's hand before resting her head down on the bedding once more.

_

* * *

_

Beep... Beep... Beep... Beep...

Danny had never been one for irrational fears, but the innocuous sound of the heart monitor was driving him crazy, causing wild panic to surge up inside of him. He knew what that sound meant... Shorewood was nearby. And he had something sinister planned for him. He tried to move, but his limbs felt like lead weights and he couldn't seem to bend them to his will. He hurt everywhere.

_It's okay, Danny_, he told himself. _He hasn't killed you yet. If he was going to do it, he would have done it already, right? _Or... no, that wasn't right. Danny thought hard, trying to remember. He had vague and foggy recollections, but they were hazy, and he was unsure if they had really happened. He hoped not. He hoped that seeing his wife in the arms of David Shorewood had all been part of a horrible delirium, some nightmare from which he just couldn't seem to wake.

And Hawkes. He had been there too, hadn't he? Yes, Danny was pretty sure he'd seen his friend. But... no, wait. Something about a scalpel. And there was a lot of blood... there was blood on his hands. And a searing pain in his chest. He remembered the blood and Shorewood. Lindsay was on the floor... her head, oh God, her head was bleeding! Was that where all the blood had come from?

He tried to take a deep breath to calm his nerves, but he found, to his horror, that he had no control over that aspect of his body either. His lungs seemed to fill with oxygen of their own accord, disregarding the overwhelming need he felt to gasp for air. He tried to cry out for help, but there was something in his mouth, stuck down his throat. What the fuck was happening to him?

He tried to call out for help, but he found that whatever it was that was in his throat made it impossible for him to speak, and all that he could manage to get out was a soft moan.

* * *

Lindsay's head shot up off the bed. She could have sworn she had heard something. She was sure of it. She leaned forward, gently caressing Danny's face as she peered down at his features, searching for any sign of change.

"Danny? Honey?" she asked, her voice shaking with anticipation. "Baby, can you hear me?"

Her words were greeted by another moan from Danny, and she watched with baited breath as he squeezed his eyes shut more tightly, tossing restlessly on the bed and moaning softly.

Her heart fluttered in her chest as Danny slowly, hesitantly, opened his eyes. As he squinted up at her through half-opened lids, she could see the confusion and fear in his eyes. She smiled down at him, running her fingers gently over his stubbled cheek.

"Hey, baby," she whispered, her tears flowing freely as she watched the fear in his eyes fade away into relief as he recognized the face gazing down on him. "It's okay, Danny. You're fine, baby. I'm here for you," she said soothingly. "You're safe. He... he's gone, honey. He can't hurt you any more."

Danny visibly relaxed at her words, and Lindsay suddenly realized that she needed to alert the hospital staff to the fact that Danny was awake, but she couldn't bear to tear herself away from him. So she reached out and pressed the call button hanging from the railing on his bed. She kept her eyes locked with his, one hand tightly clutching his as she tried to calm him, to reassure him that everything was going to be fine.

She listened to the sound of footsteps running toward his room, and before she knew it, a team of nurses had descended upon them, checking Danny's vitals, monitoring his breathing, and ensuring that his painkillers were at the right dosage. Lindsay kept hold of Danny's hand through it all, elated that she could feel the faint pressure as Danny squeezed her fingers in response.

Lindsay looked up, realizing that one of the nurses was speaking to her. Lindsay recognized her as being one of the friendlier nurses, Nora was her name. She frequently turned a blind eye to Lindsay's early morning and late night visits, even bringing in a blanket or pillow for her if she fell asleep at his bedside.

"Mrs. Messer?" Nora said, catching Lindsay's attention. "He looks like he's doing well. His heart rate was a little fast there for a moment, but that's not uncommon for someone coming out of a coma. It's a bit disorienting and some patients tend to panic a bit. Other than that, he's stable for now. I'll let Dr. Howard know he' awake. He'll probably drop by in a little while to check on Danny."

"Thank you, Nora," Lindsay whispered in response, smiling through her tears at the young woman who gave her a quick nod and a smile before turning and leaving the room, giving the couple a moment of privacy.

"Hey, baby," Lindsay whispered to Danny, leaning down and pressing a soft and loving kiss to his forehead. She pulled back, gazing down at him once again, a smile creeping across her face. "I love you so much, Danny. I was so worried about you. Don't ever scare me like that again, okay?"

He looked up at her for a moment, his blue eyes boring into hers before he winked at her. She knew that if he could, he would be flashing her his patented Messer grin right now, and the thought of it made her heart melt. She stroked his face, gently wiping away the tears that had begun to trickle down his cheeks with the tips of her fingers.

"You flirting with me, Messer?" she asked softly.

Unable to speak, he responded with another cheeky wink as he squeezed her fingers gently. Lindsay couldn't help but laugh lightly, relieved to find that after everything he had been through, he hadn't lost that spark that was so uniquely Danny. Her Danny.

Nora looked up at the sound coming from Danny's hospital room. She smiled as the sound of laughter, of Lindsay's tinkling giggle, echoed out into the hallway. It was a sound she hadn't heard since the day he had been brought up from the intensive care unit, and she couldn't help but feel happy for the young couple. With a smile firmly plastered on her face, she picked up the phone, dialling in a familiar number.

"Dr. Howard?" she said into the receiver. "He's awake."

**

* * *

**

Yay! Danny's awake! *does a little dance*

My goal for this chapter was to see Danny's progression from coming out of surgery to waking up... but trying to do it mainly from Lindsay's POV - seeing how she is dealing with this whole situation, and exploring the toll it is taking, not only on her, but also on Lucy. I hope you enjoyed it, and that it didn't come across as too sappy or corny, because that certainly wasn't my intention.

I'd love to hear your thoughts, so as always, you are invited to leave a review!


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N: Hey guys. Me again! So, a big shout out to all you lovely reviewers. I am over the moon with the fact that you all loved the scene with Danny waking up. Yay! Did you all do a little dance too? LOL. **

**Anywoo, this chapter is, well... kind of fluff... I guess. Yeah. Let's call it fluff. Yay for fluff! So sit back and enjoy the DLL reunion here in Chapter 22.**

* * *

"Well, Danny," said Dr. Howard as he removed the stethoscope from his ears, slinging the plastic tube around his neck, "Your lungs are sounding better, and your surgical incision is healing nicely." He smiled as he looked down at the young man lying on the bed. "What do you say we get that tube out of your throat?"

He chuckled as Danny gave him a thumbs up with his good hand, nodding his head groggily. "Okay, I'll send a couple of nurses in to see you in a few minutes to get that taken care of," he said, writing a few notes on Danny's chart. He clicked his pen and returned it to his coat pocket. "You're throat will be pretty sore for a few days, but that's normal when we remove a breathing tube, and your throat will be tender anyways after what you've been through." He smiled down at Danny once more. "We're going to keep you here for a few more days, just to make sure that there is no infection, and to ensure that your lungs are strong enough to handle breathing on their own. Any questions?"

He laughed when Danny rolled his eyes at him, shrugging his shoulders slightly and raising his good arm slowly, pointing to the breathing tube in his mouth. "Ah, right," he said. "Sorry. I just couldn't resist. From what your friends tell me, I should be enjoying this silence from you while it lasts. The nurses will be in shortly, so just sit tight, okay?"

Danny nodded his head, and Dr. Howard gave him one final appraising once-over before turning and walking from the room, heading to the nurse's station to arrange to have Danny's tube removed.

* * *

Lindsay walked down the hall toward the waiting room to pick up Lucy. She found her sitting on the floor with Flack, playing with her bear and Lolly, her little pink doll.

Flack looked up and smiled warmly as Lindsay entered the room, and Lucy dropped her bear and raised her arms, wiggling her fingers, wanting to be picked up. Lindsay crouched down beside her daughter, cuddling her to her chest and giving her a tight hug.

"Hi, Lucy!" she said, smiling down at her daughter. "Have you been a good girl for Uncle Don?"

"Yup!" Lucy said, nodding her head and giving Lindsay an angelic smile.

"Don't let that innocent face fool you, Linds," Flack said, pushing himself up from the floor and brushing off his pants. "We've just been plotting world domination. She's an evil genius, that one. No one is safe."

Lindsay smiled at Flack and rolled her eyes at him. "Uh huh. Is that true Lucy? Are you an evil genius? Are you?"

Lucy grinned up at her mother. "Ee-bil Deen-yus!" she said, pointing at Flack.

Lindsay glared up at Flack, who shrugged his shoulders. "What?"

"She always comes back from spending time with you with the most interesting new words in her vocabulary," Lindsay said.

"I'm just expanding her horizons, Linds," he said, grinning at her.

"Riiiiight," Lindsay said, shaking her head at him.

"So, I thought I was gonna be on Lucy-duty for a few more hours here. What's up? Danny awake or something?"

"Actually... yeah, he is!" Lindsay blurted out, a huge smile on her face.

"What? Seriously? That's awesome!" Flack exclaimed. "How is he?"

"A little groggy, a little out of it, but..." Lindsay paused, thinking back to the way Danny had winked at her, "but he's still Danny."

"Good to hear it, Linds," Flack said, pulling her into his side and giving her a tight one-armed hug. "You gonna take Lucy in to see him?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling down at Lucy. "I think it would do him good to see her, and I know that she's missed him."

Flack nodded in agreement. "Yeah, she's been asking for him a lot today," he said. "She and Adam drew a whole stack of pictures for him again this afternoon." Lindsay looked over to where he was pointing, seeing a pile of colourful Lucy Messer original masterpieces stacked and waiting to be put on display in Danny's room.

"Aw, Lucy!" Lindsay said, picking up the picture on the top of the stack. "Did you do these pictures for Daddy?"

Lucy nodded her head, smiling proudly up at Lindsay.

"I'm sure he'll love them, sweetie," she said, planting a kiss on Lucy's cheek. "Hey, guess what?" she asked. "I have a surprise for you!"

"A 'prise?" Lucy said, her blue eyes wide in excitement.

"Mmm hmm. A big surprise," Lindsay said. "Can you guess?"

"Haw-see?" Lucy asked.

"No, it's not a horsey."

"Kitty?"

"No, it's not a kitty."

"Chuklit?"

Lindsay chuckled. "No, honey. It's not chocolate," she said. "Think really hard, Luce. What have you been asking for every day? Who do you want to see?"

Lucy thought, cocking her head to the side, her brow furrowed in concentration.

"Wow, it's creepy how much she looks like Danny when she does that," Flack whispered in Lindsay's ear.

Lindsay elbowed Flack in the ribs, grinning up at him before turning back to Lucy. "Well? Do you know what your surprise is?"

Lucy looked up at Lindsay. "Daddy?" she whispered, her big blue eyes hopeful.

Lindsay smiled at her little girl, nodding her head. "Yes! It's Daddy! He's awake!"

"Dadddeeeeeee!" Lucy squealed, squirming in Lindsay's arms. "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

"Whoa, Lucy," Lindsay laughed. "I think she's a little excited," she said to Flack.

"You think?" he said, laughing as the little girl clapped her hands and giggled.

"See Daddy? P'ease Mama? P'ease?"

"You want to see Daddy?"

"Ya! Daddy!"

"Okay, Luce," Lindsay said. "Let's grab your toys and your pictures and go see Daddy, okay?"

"O'tay!" Lucy shouted, wiggling out of Lindsay's arms and running over to collect her toys, shoving them haphazardly into her bag as Lindsay gathered her works of art. When everything was packed up, she crouched down beside Lucy, taking the bag full of toys from her little hands and setting it on the floor beside her.

"Now, Lucy," Lindsay said. "I know you're very excited to see Daddy..."

"Daddy!"

Lindsay couldn't help but chuckle at her daughter's enthusiasm. She had felt exactly the same way when she had first seen Danny stirring from his coma.

"Lucy, please listen to Mommy," she said, smiling as Lucy nodded her head, fidgeting excitedly as she did her very best to pay attention to what her mother was saying. "This is very important, sweetie. Do you remember what I told you about Daddy's ouchie?"

"Yup," Lucy said, nodding her head.

"Well, he's still very sore, and we're going to have to be extra careful, okay?" Lindsay explained. "Maybe if you're very good, you can sit on his lap, but you have to be gentle. So that means no jumping on Daddy. Do you understand?"

"Yup!"

Lindsay grinned up at Flack. "You want to call Mac and let him know? If they want to, everyone can stop by and visit him for a few minutes when they're done their shifts."

Flack nodded. "Will do."

With a smile on her face, Lindsay stood up, taking her daughter's hand in hers and hefting up her bag of toys in the other arm. "Okay, well, you know where we'll be," she said.

Flack nodded, watching mother and daughter as they walked down the hall towards Danny's room. He smiled as he took his phone from his pocket, flipping it open and hitting Speed Dial 1.

"Mac, it's me," he said. "He's up!"

* * *

Danny lay back on his pillows. As Dr. Howard had predicted, his throat was killing him. It was raw and sore, and his lungs still burned as he drew in each breath. His chest hurt where the surgeon had made the incision to remove the bullet from his chest and repair his damaged lung. His mouth felt cottony and dry, and a nurse had left a cup of ice chips on the table beside his bed. As he reached out his good hand to retrieve a few precious chips from the cup, he heard the distinct pitter-patter of tiny feet out in the hall. He turned his head, the ice chips all but forgotten as he focused his attention on the door.

He smiled as the footsteps drew nearer until finally his wife and daughter appeared in the doorway.

"Daddy!" Lucy said, letting go of Lindsay's hand and running over to his bedside, bouncing up and down, scrambling to climb up the side of the bed. "Daddy! Daddy!"

"Lucy, sweetie," Lindsay gently reprimanded her daughter as she dropped the bag and the stack of pictures on a nearby chair. "Remember what Mommy said, please. Inside voices, and no jumping."

"Up! Up!" she said, raising her arms. "Daddy!"

Lindsay crouched down beside her, pulling her into her arms, feeling Lucy practically vibrating with excitement. She smoothed down Lucy's pigtails before whispering in her ear.

"Be a good girl, please. Remember, be gentle."

Lucy nodded her head, wiggling from Lindsay's arms and once again struggling to crawl up the side of Danny's bed. Lindsay lifted Lucy onto her lap as she sat at the foot of the bed. She let go of the little girl with a final warning to be gentle, watching with tears in her eyes as Lucy crawled cautiously up Danny's legs.

Lindsay had been surprised to see Danny without his breathing apparatus when she had returned with Lucy. She had left the room just after Dr. Howard had arrived, and she smiled to herself in relief as it dawned on her that the removal of the breathing tube meant that Danny's lungs must be doing much better.

She held her breath as Lucy made her way up the bed, waiting for the moment where she would stand up and jump on Danny's frail body. But the moment never came, and before long Lucy had carefully settled herself on Danny's lap, gazing up at him adoringly.

"Hi Daddy," she said softly.

"Hey Lucybear," Danny whispered back to her, his voice hoarse and raspy.

"Ouchie all better?" Lucy asked tentatively, reaching out a tiny hand to rest on the cast on Danny's wrist.

Danny's heart melted at his daughter's question. She looked up at him with wide, innocent eyes and he could see the concern she had for him in her expression.

"Almost," he whispered, tugging gently on one of her pigtails. "How's my Lucybear?"

"O'tay," she replied. She turned and looked at Lindsay over her shoulder. "Hug?" she asked.

"You'll have to ask Daddy, sweetheart," Lindsay said, wiping at her teary eyes with her sleeve.

Lucy turned back to Danny. "Hug, Daddy?"

Danny nodded his head, looking up at Lindsay and giving her a crooked smile before he opened his arms, letting Lucy crawl up beside him. She wrapped her little arms around his middle and rested her head softly on his chest, cuddling into his side. "Poor Daddy," she said, gently patting his chest.

Watching the pair of them, Lindsay couldn't hold back her emotions any longer. The sight of Lucy putting herself in the role of Danny's protector made her choke up and tears began to trickle down her cheeks. She swallowed the lump that had suddenly formed in her throat, cursing David Shorewood for the damage he had done to her little family.

"Daddy's okay, Luce," Danny whispered, stroking her hair lovingly with his good hand. He traced a finger down her cheek before poking her nose. As she scrunched up her face, he started to laugh, wincing as the laugh quickly turned into a hacking cough.

Lucy stared up at him with wide eyes, and Lindsay moved to the side of his bed, helping him to sit up slightly, a worried expression on her face as he wheezed and rasped. Finally, his coughing began to subside. He lay back on the pillows, exhausted, closing his eyes for a moment and waiting for the pain in his chest and throat to abate. Lindsay grabbed a cloth from the bathroom and doused it with water, gently applying the cool cloth to his forehead, her hands trembling as she watched his face contort in agony.

"Babe, you okay?" she asked.

He nodded his head, his eyes still closed.

"Do you want me to get a nurse?" she asked.

He shook his head, cracking his eyes open and looking at her.

"Doctor Howard said it would be sore for a while," he whispered. Seeing the look of concern on her face, he gave her a tired smile. "I'm okay, Linds. Really."

"You're sure?" she asked. "You make sure you tell me if the pain gets too bad, Danny. Promise me."

"I promise," he said, leaning back and gazing down at Lucy who was staring back up at him with wide eyes.

"Daddy sick?" she asked, her eyes filling with tears. "No sick, Daddy. No sick p'ease."

"Oh, Lucybear," Danny said, stroking her cheek affectionately. "I'm getting better, okay. But Daddy's gonna be sick for a little while. And I need you and Mommy to look after me. Can you do that? Can you be a big girl and help Mommy?"

"I hewp! I hewp Daddy!" Lucy said, nodding her head enthusiastically.

"That's my good girl," Danny said. "Do you see that cup there?" he asked, pointing to the cup of ice chips on the table. When Lucy nodded her head, he continued. "Can you give the cup to Daddy, please?"

Lucy sat up, being careful not to lean on Danny as she did so, reaching over and grabbing the cup of ice. She handed it to Danny before settling herself down beside him once again.

"Thanks, Luce," Danny said, reaching into the cup and retrieving a few ice chips with his fingers, popping them into his mouth and sucking on them as they melted, letting the cool water trickle down his throat. He closed his eyes and sighed as the liquid helped to relieve some of the rawness.

"See, Mommy," Lucy said proudly, "I hewp!"

"You did! Good girl, sweetie," Lindsay said, leaning down and kissing the top of Lucy's head. Lindsay looked up, her heart sinking as she noticed Danny laying back, his eyes closed as exhaustion took over. "Danny, are you tired, honey?" she asked. "Do you want us to let you get some sleep?"

"Mmm?" Danny murmured, shaking his head and staring up at her blearily. "No, no. Please stay, Linds. Don't go." Before he'd even finished his sentence his eyes had started to droop closed once more. Lindsay leaned down, pressing a soft kiss to Danny's temple, gently running her fingers through his hair as he dozed.

"Oh, Daddy!" Lucy exclaimed, pointing up at Lindsay's own recently healed temple. "Mama gots a ouchie!"

"What?" Danny said, his eyes snapping open. He looked at Lucy, his eyes following the path of her finger, coming to rest on Lindsay's face. "Where? When?"

"Oh, it's nothing, Dan," Lindsay said moving her hand to her temple, her fingers gently probing the area where Shorewood had hit her. She glanced hesitantly down at Lucy, not wanting to frighten her by telling her that Mommy had been hit hard enough to make her bleed. "I... bumped my head and had a bandage there for a few days. But it's all better now, right Lucy?"

"No better!" Lucy said adamantly, shaking her head. "Daddy, kiss better p'ease?" she asked looking up at Danny with pleading eyes, her hands clasped in front of her. "P'ease?"

Lindsay sighed, looking down at her daughter. "Lucy, really. It's all better," she said. She turned to look over at Danny who was grinning up at her.

"Come here, babe," he whispered.

Lindsay rolled her eyes at him as she leaned forward. She closed her eyes as she felt the fingers of Danny's good hand slide gently up into the hair at the nape of her neck. She sighed as she felt him press his lips softly to her temple, butterflies fluttering around in her stomach at his simple, loving touch.

She pulled back slightly, looking down at Danny.

"All better?" he whispered.

"All better," she replied, smiling at him as she gently stroked his cheek. He flinched slightly as her fingers trailed over the ugly bruise that had formed on his jaw from where Shorewood had punched him. Lindsay leaned forward and gently kissed the tender skin of his jaw. She felt Danny's fingers curl into her hair as she pulled back to look at him. "I love you, Danny," she whispered, leaning in, her forehead pressed against his, their noses touching.

"Love you too, babe," he rasped in reply.

"Wuv Daddy!" Lucy piped up.

Danny turned his attention from his wife's loving gaze and looked down at Lucy who was sitting beside him, her eyes squeezed tightly closed, her lips puckered, waiting for her kiss. He smiled as he drew her toward him, peppering her face with soft kisses, a huge grin on his face as he listened to his daughter giggle.

"Daddy! All done!" she squealed.

"Love you, Luce."

"O'tay," she said. She grinned at Danny before she was suddenly distracted by the stack of pictures lying on the chair beside his bed. "Mama, pickters p'ease!" she said, reaching out for her drawings.

"Here you go, sweetie," Lindsay said as she handed the pictures to her daughter, smiling as she watched her settle herself back down at Danny's side, giving him a running commentary on each one. Lindsay could see Danny was fading quickly, his eyes drooping closed, and several times he had to jerk himself awake. Lindsay was about to tell Lucy that he had had enough for now, but Danny had looked at her with a soft smile on his face, shaking his head gently before turning his attention back to Lucy's pictures. Finally they came to the last picture in the stack, and Lucy proudly held it up for her father to admire.

"Dis Yoo-see," she said, pointing to a big pink blob.

"Oh, very nice, Luce," Danny whispered. "It looks just like you."

"Dis Mama," she said, her chubby finger pointing to a purple blob.

"I could tell that was Mommy," Danny said.

"How, Daddy?" Lucy asked

"Because she's so pretty," Danny said, winking at Lindsay.

"An dis Daddy," Lucy explained, pointing to a big green blob.

"That's me?" Danny asked, "Wow, Lucy. I'm more handsome than I thought."

"Daddy!"

"Sorry, Luce," he said smiling at her. "Thank you. It's beautiful, baby."

Lucy smiled proudly as she sorted through her pictures once more. Danny watched her for a moment before fatigue started to creep up on him again. He gently pinched Lucy's chin between his thumb and forefinger before turning his head to Lindsay. She was sitting in the chair beside his bed watching the pair of them with tears in her eyes. Instantly, his tiredness was shoved aside, his focus on Lindsay. "What's the matter, babe?" he asked.

"We just missed you so much, Danny," she said, wiping at her eyes and sniffling. "We were so worried about you. And now you're awake and it's just..." she paused, taking a moment to blow her nose, "I'm just so happy, Dan. I thought we'd lost you."

He reached out and took Lindsay's hand in his, closing the fingers of his good hand around her smaller, delicate fingers. He watched her struggle to maintain her composure in front of their daughter.

Both his girls had been through a lot in the past few weeks. He knew that at some point he and Lindsay would have to sit down and really talk about everything that had happened. But now wasn't the time. Lucy was here, and neither of them wanted to frighten or upset her. Plus, he didn't know whether he'd be much of a conversationalist at this point. His thoughts about what had happened during the hours he'd been held captive by Shorewood were blurry at best. Everything was a jumble. He had no idea in what order events had taken place, if his memories had actually happened, or whether they were just delirious dreams. Had he really seen Lindsay in that room? Right now he couldn't be sure. All he knew was that she was here now, and he wanted nothing more than to hold her, to feel her soft body pressed up against him. He needed the comfort that only she could offer him.

But his body chose this moment to announce that his painkillers were wearing off. His head was beginning to ache, his surgical scars throbbed, and he could feel the first twinges of real, honest- to-goodness, no-holds-barred pain beginning to shoot through his body. He let out a soft moan as he lay back on the bed, closing his eyes and trying to take deep, steadying breaths.

"Dan?" he heard Lindsay's voice filled with concern. "You alright?" He felt her lay her hand gently on his forehead. "Tell me what's wrong."

"I think... I need a nurse," he whispered. "It's... I hurt everywhere."

As Lindsay pressed the call button she looked down to see Lucy staring back up at her from her place at Danny's side.

"Daddy?" she asked, her lower lip trembling.

"Sweetie, it's okay," Lindsay whispered. She sat down on the edge of Danny's bed, resting her hand on his leg, rubbing in gentle, calming circles. "Daddy just needs some medicine and then he needs to sleep."

"No s'eep," Lucy said, the tears in her eyes brimming over and beginning to trickle down her cheeks. "No more s'eep. All done s'eep. Daddy wake."

Lindsay sighed, looking up at Danny, his face twisted in pain as he waited for another dose of his medication.

Just then, a nurse came bustling into the room, quickly checking Danny's chart before administering his next does of painkillers. She quickly took his pulse and listened to his chest before nodding at Lindsay and giving Lucy a small smile as she left the room.

"Daddy wake?" Lucy asked again, wiping her runny nose on her sleeve.

"Lucy..." Lindsay began, but stopped when she heard Danny's faint voice.

"Lucybear, Daddy's sick, remember?" he said, cracking his eyes open and looking down at his daughter. "And I really don't want to go back to sleep. I want to stay awake and play with you baby. But I can't right now."

"Why?" Lucy sniffled.

"Because if I want to be able to play with you lots and lots later on, I need to sleep now and take my medicine so I can get better, okay?"

Lucy crossed her arms over her chest. "No s'eep," she huffed.

"Lucy, do you remember when you were sick?" Lindsay asked, pulling Lucy off the bed and onto her lap. "You were so sleepy, and you didn't even want to get up and play with your toys. Remember? You just stayed in your bed cuddled up with Tee-Bah. And Mommy and Daddy let you sleep and made sure you took your medicine until you got all better."

Lucy looked up at Lindsay, nodding her head sadly.

"So, can you be a big girl and let Daddy get his sleep too?"

Again, Lucy nodded her head.

Lindsay gave Lucy a comforting hug. "Now, say goodnight to Daddy, okay?" she said. "We're going to go home and have supper, and we'll come back and see Daddy tomorrow."

"Bye-bye Daddy," Lucy said softly, patting Danny's leg gently. His eyes closed once again, he smiled softly and let out a deep sigh as the pain medication started to kick in and he drifted off to sleep.

Lindsay began to quickly tidy the room, arranging all of Lucy's pictures into a pile and placing them neatly on the table by his side. Then she picked up Lucy's bag of toys before reaching down to help Lucy down off the bed.

"You ready, Luce?" she asked as they walked hand in hand to the door.

"Oh! Mama!" Lucy exclaimed, tugging on Lindsay's hand.

"What? What is it, sweetie?" Lindsay asked crouching down beside Lucy. "What's the matter?"

Lucy reached for her bag of toys, diving in and starting to pull them out, spreading them all over the floor.

"Lucy!" Lindsay said sternly. "Come on, it's not play time. Put your toys away."

"No, Mama," Lucy said as she continued to pull things out of the bag. "Div Daddy."

"Give Daddy what, honey?" Lindsay asked.

Lucy suddenly stopped searching. Tenderly, gently, she pulled her treasured bear Tee-Bah from the bag. "Div Daddy," she said. "P'ease?"

Lindsay gave Lucy a small smile, blinking hard to hold back her tears. "I think he'd like that, sweetie," she managed to choke out.

Lucy grinned up at her mother. She walked over to the edge of Danny's bed, standing up on her tippy toes to gently place the tattered bear on the bed beside Danny.

"Night-night, Daddy," she said.

After cleaning up Lucy's toys off the floor, Lindsay turned to look over her shoulder at Danny. She couldn't help the smile that spread across her face at the sight of her husband sleeping soundly on the bed, one arm curled tightly around Lucy's bear.

**

* * *

**

*sniff*

**Um, so... that chapter turned out a little more sad than I had initially intended. The muse had other ideas, and we all know by now that what the muse wants... she gets. But that's not necessarily a bad thing, is it? This could still technically be called fluff, right? Right?**

**I hope you all enjoyed seeing Lucy, Lindsay and Danny together again. Next chapter may feature a few more members of the team, and there will definitely be more Danny and Lindsay as they struggle to come to terms with what's happened. And yes, there will be more fluff!**


	23. Chapter 23

**A/N: Hey, I'm back! Sorry for abandoning you for a few days. Real life has a way of rearing it's ugly head every once in a while and getting in the way of the really important things... like updating! LOL. But I'm back, and I have a new chapter fresh out of the oven and waiting for you! **

**I know you're all probably getting sick of hearing this, but I really am overwhelmed by the support you've all shown for this story. Sometimes I just can't believe the amazing comments that you leave me, they're just too fantastic, so thank you all from the bottom of my heart!**

**So, I set out to write a kind of light and fluffy chapter with Lindsay and Danny... but the muse had other ideas. For anyone familiar with my muse, you'll know she's very bossy and demanding, and when she gets an idea into her head, she's like a dog with a bone and I don't get a moment's peace until I sit down and write exactly what she wants, regardless of whether it's what I intended to write or not. So... this chapter is a little different from what I originally intended. A little darker, but hopefully still uplifting... in it's own way.**

**There were just a few things that needed to be dealt with before we can really have the happy ending that I know we're all looking forward to.**

**So, please, be gentle. Here it is... Chapter 23.**

* * *

Mac snapped his phone shut, a wide smile spread across his face. It was the first genuine smile he'd been able to manage in days, the events of the past few weeks playing over and over again in his mind making him nothing short of miserable. He had been worried - worried about Danny, worried about Lindsay, worried about his beloved god-daughter. He'd worried about how his close-knit team would manage facing the possibility of losing one of its members. And he'd worried about himself - how he would cope with losing the one person that was the closest thing he'd ever had to a son.

He stared down at the phone in his hand, barely daring to believe that Flack's words were true. Danny was awake. Lindsay and Lucy were with him now, and Flack had been instructed to make sure that Mac and the rest of the team know that they were welcome to drop by once their shifts were over.

He was still standing in his office, smiling as he stared off into space, when Stella, Adam and Hawkes walked into his office. Seeing the expression on his face, that he was clearly miles away, Stella approached him, being careful not to startle him.

"Hey, Mac?" she asked softly. "Mac? You okay?"

"Hmm? What?" Mac said, shaking his head to clear the daze he had fallen into. "No, I'm fine. I just... I got some news that..."

He was cut off as Stella interrupted him excitedly.

"Oh, my God! It's Danny!" she exclaimed. "Is he awake? Can we see him? How's Lindsay? Is she alright? Does Lucy know? How's Flack? Are we allowed to visit him?"

"Whoa, Stella. Slow down! One question at a time, please!" he chided her gently. "Yes, he's awake. I don't know how Lindsay is, I didn't get to talk to her. Yes, Lucy knows. Flack's fine, he's still at the hospital, and yes, we can visit him after our shifts."

Mac chuckled as Stella's face fell.

"We have to wait until after our shifts?" she wailed. "But we just started! I don't want to wait twelve hours - it's practically forever!"

"Sorry, guys," Mac said. "We have a heavy caseload and we're down two CSIs until Lindsay and Danny are back to work, so everyone's stretched a little thin right now. I just can't afford to let everyone off early to go see Danny, as much as I'd like to."

Stella let out a frustrated sigh.

"Yeah, I guess so," she said. "But I'm not pulling a double, you got it, Taylor? My twelve hours are over, I'm out that door and on my way to the hospital. And I'm taking Adam and Sheldon with me."

"Duly noted," Mac said, smiling as she bounced excitedly on the balls of her feet.

"Jeez, Stella. You're like a little kid on Christmas morning," Hawkes teased her. "You're practically vibrating!"

Stella laughed. "Normally, I'd smack you for that, Hawkes," she replied tartly, "But I'm in such a good mood, I'm willing to overlook your little comment."

"Do... do you think that, um, that we should take something with us when we go?" Adam asked.

"Ooh! Good idea!" Stella said, resuming her excited bouncing. "We'll get flowers and balloons, and..."

"Okay, so we'll all go visit Danny while Stella buys out the gift shop downstairs," Mac said, rolling his eyes playfully.

Stella smacked his shoulder lightly. "You boys are so mean! Come on, this is a big deal!"

"We know it is, Stella," Hawkes said softly. "But I don't think it would be a good idea to overload him right now. He's probably still a little shell-shocked, maybe even a bit out of it, so we should probably take it easy on the poor guy. Maybe we shouldn't all descend on him at once, either. It might be better if we went in one or two at a time."

"Good idea, Hawkes," Mac agreed. "But we'll still leave Stella in charge of the gifts, alright? Let her have her fun!"

"That's more like it," Stella said. "I'm going to go call the florist right now... or on my break," she amended as Mac raised his eyebrows at her using company time to run a personal errand.

"Okay, so, we'll meet up at the end of our shifts and head over then. Sound good?"

They all nodded their heads in agreement, each hoping for their shifts to pass by as quickly as possible.

* * *

Flack stood looking through the window at his friend sleeping soundly on the bed inside his hospital room, Lucy's battered and worn out teddy bear in his arms. Relieved didn't even begin to describe how he'd felt when Lindsay had told him that Danny had finally woken up. He was so far beyond relieved that there just weren't any words to describe the feelings that had welled up inside him.

After watching Lindsay and Lucy walk down the hall, hand in hand, toward Danny's room, he had called Mac to pass on the good news. He could hear the pure joy in Mac's voice as he received the news. After promising to keep Mac posted on any further developments, Flack had ended the call, collapsing back into an empty chair and letting all the emotions of the past few weeks drain out of him.

He was exhausted. He had spent the past two weeks juggling work with trying to be there for Lindsay, to support her and be there for her to lean on while she sat and waited, day after day by Danny's bedside. And Lucy. It had broken his heart to see his best friend's little girl crying for her daddy, knowing that there was not a goddamn thing he could do to help. And although he tried his best, he knew he was a poor substitute for the person both Lindsay and Lucy needed the most right now.

And on top of it all, he'd been faced with one of his own greatest fears - losing the best friend he'd ever had. Losing the person that he thought of as his brother, the person he was closer to than anyone else, including his own sister. He'd lost people before. He'd lost Jess, and it had been the hardest thing he'd ever have to deal with... until this. He had loved Jess. He knew that he had, even though he'd never gotten the chance to tell her. But Danny? Danny was family, and the prospect of losing him was absolutely inconceivable.

He leaned back in his chair, scrubbing his hands over his tired face. He knew he should go home, get some sleep, maybe have a shower. But something inside him just wouldn't let him leave the hospital. Danny had woken up, but it didn't mean that he should be alone. He knew that Lindsay felt the same - when she had stopped by to tell him that she and Lucy were heading home for the night, he could see that she was clearly torn between staying with her husband while he slept, or taking Lucy home. So, he stayed. He stayed just in case Danny woke up in the middle of the night and needed to see a friendly face.

He had wandered down to the cafeteria to grab a cup of coffee and a bagel, taking it back upstairs with him to munch on while he waited. Mac had said that the team would be over when their shifts ended at 8. Checking his watch, Flack was shocked to find it was already nearly 5. Three more hours and he could go home.

He stood up, stretching his arms and legs and grunting with satisfaction as his back cracked and popped. He decided to make his way back to Danny's room to check on him. And that's where Nora found him an hour later, still standing guard outside Danny's room.

"Mr. Flack?" she asked tentatively, placing a gentle hand on his arm, trying to catch his attention without jarring him from his thoughts.

"Hmm? Oh, hey Nora," Flack said, rubbing his tired eyes with his fists before giving her a tired smile. "How many times do I have to tell you that you can call me Flack? Or just Don?"

"Okay, Just Don," Nora said, smiling at him. "I just checked his vitals, he's doing well. The sedative we gave him to knock him out should be wearing off soon. You can go in if you want."

"What? Oh, no. That's okay," Flack said, shaking his head. "I don't want to be in the way."

"I'm sure he'd be happy to see you when he wakes up," she urged him. "Go on. Sit down, take a load off. I promise you won't be in the way."

He gave her a small smile before nodding his head. "I have a feeling that this is an argument I have no chance at winning, so I'll quit while I'm ahead," he said, moving toward the door. "Thanks, Nora."

"No problem, Don," she said, giving him a warm smile. "Let me know if you need anything, alright?"

"Yeah. I will, thanks."

Flack turned the handle, pushing open the door quietly and moving into the darkened room. He made his way over to the chair at Danny's bedside, his eyes resting on the stack of pictures Lucy had left for her father. He had to smile, remembering how she had excitedly pointed out the members of her family - green for Danny, purple for Lindsay, and of course, pink for Lucy.

As he admired the pictures, his ears perked up at the sound of a soft moan coming from the bed. He watched as Danny shifted slightly on the bed, his face contorting in pain as his body resisted his movements. Flack held his breath, unsure of what to do. Should he say something to let Danny know he was there? Should he call Nora and let her know Danny was waking up? He had no clue.

As he was contemplating his next move, Danny's eyes cracked open, and even in the dim light of the hospital room, Flack could see his fear. He heard the steady beep of his heart monitor speed up as his heart raced. He looked wildly around the room before trying to sit up, letting out a loud moan of pain as his body protested against the sudden movement, causing him to fall heavily back onto the bed, his chest heaving.

Flack leaned forward, not wanting to startle Danny, but wanting to help put his mind at ease.

"Hey, Danny? Danny, you're alright man," he said softly. "You're okay. You're in the hospital, alright? You're safe."

Flack watched as Danny continued to tremble slightly. Lindsay had told him that when Danny had woken up the first time, he had been disoriented and had needed to be reassured that he was safe. And after talking with Hawkes, he was fairly certain that the idea of waking up in a hospital bed would not be the most comforting experience for Danny, who had spent his entire time in Shorewood's lair strapped to a hospital bed, with all sorts of medical equipment surrounding him. It was only natural that in the twilight between sleeping and waking, he would be taken back to his last cognisant moments, with fear taking over as he contemplated the horrifying possibility of waking up once again under the watchful and torturous care of David Shorewood.

Flack continued to reassure Danny that he was safe, and that no one was going to hurt him, and he felt relief surge through him as his friend finally began to relax, the panic and tension melting away from his features. Finally, his heart rate slowed and his breathing became less laboured. He turned to face Flack, giving him a wan smile.

"Hey, Don," he said quietly.

"Hey, Danno," Flack said, giving Danny a smile that he hoped didn't betray his fatigue. "You alright? You scared me there for a second."

Danny lowered his gaze, blushing lightly, clearly embarrassed by his show of weakness.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he whispered. "I guess I don't really like waking up in hospitals very much." Flack was taken aback by the raspy quality of Danny's voice. It sounded like every word caused him pain, irritating his sensitive throat.

"No need to apologize, Dan," Flack said. "Can't say that I blame you on that one. I hate hospitals myself. They smell funny."

Danny smiled at Flack's lame attempt at a joke. "Like antiseptic... and sick people."

The two men sat in awkward silence for a moment, neither one sure of what to say. It was obvious that Danny was clearly struggling to deal with his fears, and Flack didn't know whether he should offer Danny comfort, or if he should try to lighten the mood a bit. And Danny just didn't know what to say, period. He was glad Flack was there, having someone nearby when he woke up seemed to help him snap out of his nightmare a little faster, but it wasn't something he was proud of - this sudden and deep-seeded fear that this was all a dream, and that he would wake up with the placid face of David Shorewood staring down at him.

"Dan, you wanna talk about it?" Flack asked, finally breaking the silence.

Danny looked up at his friend, clearly torn about whether this was something he really wanted to get into right now. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, his eyes filling with frustrated tears.

"I just... I can't remember stuff, you know? I mean, I remember, but I can't seem to tell the difference between what's real and what's not," he frowned as he tried to blink back his tears. "I think he kept me drugged, so everything I remember has this kind of, I don't know, this hazy quality to it. And I... I remember things, but I don't know if they actually happened, or if I was just dreaming them, you know? I mean, I do remember... I remember pain. And there are little things that make me jump, like this fucking heart monitor. Why can't they just turn the fucking thing off? The sound of it is like nails on a chalkboard. And even... even this bed, it just, it makes me feel... unsafe, you know. Fuck, I am so messed up."

Flack watched with a heavy heart as Danny slumped back on his pillows, closing his eyes and trying to shut out the fears that were bubbling just under the surface.

"Hey, you want me to get the nurse to turn down the sound on the monitor?" Flack asked. "I mean, I'm sure they'd do it. They probably just don't realize how much it bothers you."

He stood with the intention of going out to get Nora, but Danny's raspy voice stopped him.

"But it shouldn't bother me, Flack," he whispered. "That's the problem. I'm pissed off at myself that I let it bother me. I mean, it's there for a purpose right? It's helping me, but I... I..."

"Hey, man, it's okay," Flack said, sitting back down in the chair and reaching out to squeeze Danny's shoulder comfortingly. "No one thinks any less of you, Danny. There aren't many people out there who could go through what you've been through and come out the other side unscathed, hell, even alive. But you did, and you should be focusing on the positives, not beating yourself up because something that's out of your control."

Danny let out a resigned sigh. "That's easier said than done, Flack."

"I know it is, Danno. But you gotta know, we're all here for you, and no one is going to judge you. We all... we missed you. We were so worried about you, and Lindsay... shit, Danny, she was beside herself. And when she saw that video of you on that table..."

"That was real?" Danny's head snapped up, his eyes searching Flack's. "That... he really... he recorded... and he sent... and Lindsay, she saw... fuck!" He shouted the last word, wincing at the pain it caused in his throat. "Fuck," he said more quietly. He was silent for a few moments, trying to straighten out his thoughts. Finally he turned to Flack.

"Did Lindsay come into the room with Shorewood?" he asked, his voice dangerously low.

Flack bit his lip, not sure how to proceed. Danny was clearly getting himself worked up, and Flack could tell by the tone of his voice that his frustration and anger were getting close to the boiling point. Deciding that honesty was the better policy, Flack nodded his head, almost imperceptibly. But it was enough for Danny to understand.

"What part of _keep her away _did you and Mac not understand?"

Flack closed his eyes, his mind racing back to the images of Danny on the hospital bed, Shorewood's disembodied voice taunting him as Danny railed against his restraints, shouting out for whoever might be listening to keep his wife out of harm's way.

_Mac! Don! Anyone... don't let her do it! Keep her away. Don't... don't... keep her safe!_

Shit.

"Listen, Danny, it was the only way, man," Flack explained. "He... the door, it was too thick and we couldn't get through. The only way he would open the door was to let Lindsay in. But she wasn't alone, Dan," Flack continued, his heart racing at the murderous expression on Danny's face. "She would only go in on the condition that Shorewood let her bring Hawkes in to make sure you were alright."

"Oh, well that makes it all okay, then," Danny muttered. "Fuck! I thought I had dreamed seeing her there. It seemed so unreal. And I figured that if the video was real, and if either you or Mac had seen it, you would have done absolutely everything in your power to keep her as far away from that... that fucking psycho as possible."

Flack felt a huge knot forming in his stomach. Not only had he _not _kept Lindsay out of harm's way, it had been at his insistence that she had been brought to the scene and that she entered the room at all. Lindsay had been adamant that she be able to help, but ultimately it was Flack's persuasion that had made Mac change his mind.

"I'm sorry, Dan," Flack said. "I really am. We... it was the only way. He would have killed you, man. And Lindsay, she was so torn up already, she wasn't going to take no for an answer. She wanted in there, wanted to see you with her own eyes and make sure that you got out safely." He stopped, observing Danny carefully before he continued. "If there was any other way... but we were running out of time, Dan. And from what Hawkes tells me, if she hadn't done what she did... well, let's just say we wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Danny turned his head away, but not before Flack noticed the glisten of tears on his eyelashes. It broke his heart that his friend had to go through this, and it was made even worse by the knowledge that despite his best intentions, he had somehow let Danny down.

"Danny?" he asked tentatively. "I know you're mad, but please, talk to me."

"I'm not mad at you, Don," he said, his face still turned away. "I just... maybe it's selfish of me, I don't know. But the thought of her being in any kind of danger, anywhere near that monster, it makes my skin crawl. I keep seeing his... his hands on her. He smelled her hair, Don. Right in front of me. And I couldn't help her. I just... I just lay there, completely useless as he pawed at my wife."

"Danny, the only person to blame in this is Shorewood. And he's gone. What's done is done, but you have to start realizing that although what he did was horrible, he can't hurt you - either of you - anymore."

Danny nodded his head. "I know," he whispered. "It's just... it's hard... I was holding out the hope that it was all some terrible delusion... and finding out that she was really there, that she put herself in that kind of danger... for me? It's too much. She should never have been put in that situation. She should never have had to make that choice. I... I should have been stronger. I should have fought harder. I should have protected her."

"Dan, do you remember what happened to Shorewood?" Flack asked.

Danny shook his head. "Lindsay just said he was dead. That was enough for me."

"You saved her, Danny," Flack said, watching Danny carefully for his reaction. "Hawkes told me that Shorewood had her pinned and was going to kill her," he winced at the pained expression on Danny's face, "And you managed to kill him, to save her... just in time."

Danny stared at his friend, his mind whirling with fuzzy memories that were finally starting to take shape in his mind. Lindsay was on the floor, her head bleeding. Shorewood was staring down at her, a gun pressed against the delicate skin of her forehead. In his memory he could feel the cool steel of the scalpel in his hand. He remembered the pain, the absolutely blinding pain that he had endured trying to sit up, and suddenly there was blood... a lot of blood. Horrified, Danny watched as Shorewood clutched at the scalpel before he crumpled to the floor.

"Oh, my God," Danny breathed. "He almost killed her. He almost killed her, Don. Shit. Shit! Oh, God. I almost lost her!"

Flack watched helplessly as Danny buried his head in his hands, sobbing softly as he tried to come to terms with the direness of what he had survived.

"Hey, hey. Danny, come on man, calm down," Flack said, patting Danny's shoulder in an attempt to comfort his distraught friend. "It's okay, Dan. It's in the past. She's okay, man. Come on and pull yourself together, okay? You're both alive, and that fucking fruit loop can't hurt either of you anymore."

Danny lowered his hands from his face, taking deep gulping breaths as he tried to follow Flack's instructions and calm himself down. He turned to Flack, his eyes red, although his tears had stopped flowing.

"Where's Lindsay?" he asked softly. "I want to see her. I need to see her. Where is she?"

"Dan, it's like 6:30 in the morning, man. She's probably at home, sleeping."

"Can... can you call her? Please?" Danny pleaded. "I need her..."

"Yeah, yeah. Okay, Dan," Flack said, moving to stand up from his chair. "I'll call her, okay? Just give me a few minutes. I'll be just out in the hall."

Danny silently nodded his head, his mind clearly elsewhere as Flack rose and walked quietly out into the hall. He pulled out his cell phone and was about to dial in Lindsay's familiar cell number, when a familiar voice stilled his hand.

"Hey, Flack! You're still here?"

Turning, Flack smiled with utter relief at the sight of Lindsay making her way down the hall.

"Oh, thank God," he said. "Thank God you're here."

"What?" Lindsay asked, her voice tinged with worry. "What happened? Is Danny okay? Don?"

"No, no, he's fine," Flack said, setting her mind at ease. "No, he's just... things are starting to come back to him, and... I just... he really wants to see you. I was just out here about to call you, and hoping like hell you could get here as fast as possible."

He watched as Lindsay peeked through the window into Danny's room, her expression laced with concern.

"What are you doing here so early, Linds?" Flack asked gently. She smiled up at him, blushing lightly.

"I couldn't sleep," she admitted. "I just tossed and turned all night. I kept thinking about him lying here all alone, and I was worried that he would wake up and no one would be here for him... But I should have known better. Thank you, Don."

She moved forward, pulling Flack into a tight hug. "Thank you for everything you've done for us," she said, looking up at him. "I don't know if I could have gotten through this without having someone there to lean on. Danny and I, we're so lucky to have such a good friend."

Flack felt himself choking up at her unabashed gratefulness. "It's nothing, Linds," he said, shaking his head. "You and Danny, you were both there for me when Jess... when I needed you most. It's the least I can do."

"Go home, Don," Lindsay said. "You're exhausted. Go to bed, get some sleep. You deserve it."

"Thanks, Linds. I think I might just do that," he said, pulling her in for one last quick hug before he turned and walked down the hall, leaving Lindsay standing in the hall outside Danny's room.

* * *

"Baby?" Danny looked up at the sound of his wife's voice. "You okay?"

"Montana," Danny said, holding his hand out to her. "Oh, God. You're here."

She strode forward quickly, taking his hand in hers and pressing a soft kiss to his fingers before leaning forward and kissing his forehead.

"I'm here," she said. "I'm here, baby."

"How... how did you get here so fast? I thought Flack just called you."

Lindsay sat down in the chair beside his bed, his hand still held tightly in hers.

"I couldn't sleep. I wanted to see you. I was worried about you," she said, stroking the back of his hand with the pad of her thumb.

Danny looked down at their joined hands, watching as Lindsay's thumb idly grazed his hand. Even in the dim light of the hospital room, he saw the soft glint of her engagement ring reflecting off her finger. He gently tugged on her hand, pulling her toward him.

"Come here, Linds," he said, nodding down to the bed beside him. "I just... I need to hold you."

"Danny, I'll hurt you," she protested.

"You won't, Linds," he assured her. "Just stay on my good side, and we'll be fine. Please?"

She stared back at him, the pleading expression in his eyes breaking her heart. God, she wanted him to hold her. More than anything, she wanted to feel his arms around her again. She nodded her head silently and watched as Danny shifted slightly, making more room for her on the bed beside him. Slowly, carefully, she slid onto the bed, laying down on her side, curling her body against his, his arm wrapped around her shoulders. She rested her head against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart thudding beneath his ribs. She closed her eyes, feeling for the first time in weeks as though everything was really going to be alright.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?" she asked.

She felt his arm tighten around her shoulders and listened as he let out a soft sigh before pressing a soft kiss to her temple.

"I'm fine, Linds," he said. "God, I've missed you. I thought... I thought I might never get to do this again, to feel you like this."

She shifted slightly, looking up at him. She met his gaze, giving him a shy smile.

"I know what you mean," she replied. "All I wanted, this whole time, was for you to wake up so that I could tell you how much I love you... and how much I missed you."

"I'm sorry for everything you had to go through," Danny said, gently skimming his hand up and down her back. "The whole time I was with Shorewood, all I could think about was you... you and Lucy. The thought of getting back to you, of being able to hold you just like this... it's all I had to hold onto, Linds. It's the reason I found the strength to keep fighting."

A lump had formed in Lindsay's throat, and she could feel tears welling up in her eyes. There was nothing she could say to describe how Danny's words had touched her, and so she simply tilted her head back and leaned into him, pressing her lips softly against his own. She slid one hand up his chest, her fingers gently stroking his neck as he moved his lips against her own.

They lay there for what seemed like hours, one lazy, loving kiss melting into the next. She ran her fingers through his hair and felt his fingers tracing soft patterns on the exposed skin on the back of her neck, his other hand, still carefully wrapped in a cast, sought out her waist as he pulled her closer to him.

Finally pulling away, she gazed at him, her fingers tenderly stroking his cheek.

"I love you so much, Danny," she whispered, kissing the tip of his nose. "So much, it scares me. I was so lost without you. I didn't know what to do with myself. Don't ever leave me again, baby. I need you too much."

"You got it, babe," Danny said, pulling her back down so she was once again resting against his shoulder. "I love you, Linds," he said. "You and Lucy, you're everything to me. I hope you know that. The thought of never seeing you again, honey... it's too awful to even think about."

They lay there in contented silence, each lost in their own thoughts, until Lindsay cleared her throat.

"Flack... he said you were starting to remember some of what happened... Do you... do you want to talk about it?"

Danny gently touched a finger to her temple, tracing the faint scar that was still evident there.

"He hit you, didn't he?" he asked softly. "That's how you hurt your head. I... I remember that now."

Lindsay nodded her head minutely, staring up at Danny, his eyes faraway as he remembered.

"And I remember he touched you, held you. He smelled your hair."

Again, Lindsay nodded her head, before burying her face in Danny's shoulder, trying to hide the tears that were once again threatening to fall.

"When I saw you walk through that door, it was the best and the worst feeling in the world, all rolled into one," he said, stroking her hair. "You have no idea how badly I wanted to see you, but I was so scared, baby. I was so scared that he would hurt you." He gently hooked his finger under her chin, drawing her face up to look at him. "Why didn't you stay away? All I wanted was for you to be safe."

She blinked back her tears, her jaw set determinedly.

"What would you have done, Dan?" she asked. "Would you have sat idly by while some sicko tortured me, knowing that there was something you could do to help? I know you, Danny. And I know that even if it meant putting your life on the line, you would have done everything in your power to get to me. How could you ask me to do any different?"

Danny gnawed on his lip. He knew that Lindsay had a point. If ever she was in danger, he would have been the first one through the door to try to get her back, heedless of his own wellbeing. But just because she had a point didn't mean he had to like it.

"Please, Lindsay," he whispered, tracing the features of her face with the tip of his finger, "Please promise me that if something ever happens to me, that you'll keep yourself safe. The thought of anything happening to you, of anyone hurting you, it's too much, honey."

"Danny," Lindsay said, letting out a soft sigh, "You can't ask me to do that. I'm sorry, but that's not a promise I can make." She held up a hand as he started to protest. "No, please, let me finish. If there's a chance that I could help bring you home safely, even if it means putting myself in danger, then that's a risk I'm willing to take. You're worth it, Danny. I would do anything for you, I hope you know that. But watching from the sidelines while you suffer? Sorry. Not going to happen."

Danny looked at her for a moment, contemplating what she had just said. Then he grinned at her, shaking his head lightly.

"God, you are so stubborn. Do you know that?"

"Well, I learned from the best," she said, winking at him before pressing a kiss to his cheek.

She rested her head against his chest, feeling a sense of calm wash over her as she heard Danny chuckle, the sound starting out as a low rumble in his chest. She listened as his breathing evened out and she knew that in a matter of moments he would be asleep again. Nestled into his side, Lindsay smiled to herself, her tired mind and body finally beginning to unwind as she truly relaxed for the first time in a long time. She let her eyelids close, telling herself that she was just resting her eyes. Within minutes, they were both lost in a deep and peaceful sleep.

**

* * *

**

Um... so? *Gazes up at you all hopefully* What did we think? I have really enjoyed Flack's role in this whole story, and for those of you who have read some of my other stories, you'll know that I have a great time writing him as a kind of comic foil for Danny. But I really wanted to show another side to him here, and I hope it comes across the way I intended. *crosses fingers*

**Next chapter will have the rest of the team, plus more DL goodness. Promise! **

**Please, don't be shy! Leave me a review or send me a PM. You know I always love to hear from you! :)**


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N: So, I was going to post this on Thursday night, but we had an unexpected power outage that lasted until late Friday morning, which meant no internet. But it's all good now. Thankfully, my laptop was fully charged when we lost power so I didn't unexpectedly lose any of my work!**

**Anyways, thank you all once again for your wonderful and amazing support. Your reviews and comments have been so overwhelmingly positive, and it really makes me feel like I have to raise the bar with each chapter. So thank you all for making me continue to challenge myself to meet your high expectations.**

**This chapter sees a little more Danny/Lindsay time as they begin to deal with a few of the issues the whole Shorewood experience has brought up, plus the rest of the team stops by for a visit. So, please enjoy Chapter 24! **

* * *

The phone vibrating silently in her pocket roused Lindsay from her sleep. She scrambled to get the phone before the vibrations woke Danny, but the soft moan he emitted told her that he was already starting to wake. Pulling the phone from her pocket, she flipped it open, finding a text message from Hawkes letting her know that they were all finished their shifts and wanted to make sure that Danny was up for having a few visitors. She smiled down at the message, sending Hawkes a reply that she would see them soon, and that she was sure Danny would be happy to have a few friendly faces around him.

She snapped her phone shut, leaning over and setting it on the bedside table before gently rolling back over and nestling into Danny's side once more, pressing a soft kiss to his neck and smiling as he let out a soft sigh. She looked up and saw his eyelids flutter open. He blinked sleepily, looking around the room before his eyes rested on her. He gave her a small smile, his eyes crinkling at the sight of her lying beside him.

"Hey, stranger," she whispered as she pressed a tender kiss to his cheek.

"Hey," he replied in a hoarse whisper. "You sleep okay, Montana?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm," she said, stretching lightly. "But it wasn't long enough. I feel like I could sleep for days, as long as you're beside me. I missed you, honey. I missed just sleeping with you. I hated reaching out for you in the middle of the night and feeling nothing but a cold empty bed."

"Well, I'm here now," he said. "And you're always welcome in my bed, Linds." She giggled as he winked at her.

"You seem more yourself today," she whispered. "Not so... confused when you woke up. Is it getting easier?" she asked.

Danny thought for a moment before shrugging his shoulders, wincing at the discomfort this caused his wounds before giving her a reassuring smile. "I don't know," he admitted. "I didn't have a nightmare this time, and when I woke up..." he blushed, giving her a shy smile, "I could smell your shampoo, and it made me feel... safe."

Lindsay gently stroked his cheek, her insides twisting at his admission. She was elated that somehow, just by being here, she had helped him get over the first major hurdle of his recovery. Seeing him struggle just to wake up had been heartbreaking, and from what Flack had told her, his experience earlier that morning with Danny had been equally hard for him to endure, watching his friend overcome the fear that seemed to pervade even the supposedly safe haven of his sleep.

"Glad to help, baby," she said.

"I know you are, Linds," he replied as he tightened his arm around her. "Thank you."

"Anytime, Danny," she replied. Then she leaned in and kissed him. It wasn't the most passionate kiss they had ever shared, but it was soft and tender and loving. And it was just... right.

Pulling back, she looked at him for a moment, her eyes drinking in his features. She still had to pinch herself to make sure that she wasn't dreaming, that he was actually here - awake, talking to her, holding her. He gave her a questioning look, as if he was trying to read her expression and Lindsay laughed as she realized that Flack's comment from the other day was absolutely true.

"What? What's funny?" he asked, grinning at her.

"It's just... Flack said that Lucy looks like you when she's trying to figure something out. And I never saw it before, the resemblance. But when you looked at me just now, I totally saw it."

"Well, seeing as our daughter is the most adorable child in the entire world," Danny said, his grin spreading even wider across his face, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"You'd bet your ass it was a compliment," she giggled. "But don't tell Flack I said he was right. He'd never let me live it down."

"Your secret is safe with me, babe."

She leaned in, kissing him again. God, she'd missed this. The intimacy, the easy conversation, the feeling of being whole again when he was near. She wanted to remember this moment - this feeling - to remind herself never to take him for granted. She desperately longed to deepen their kiss, and she could sense that Danny wanted it too, but they were interrupted by the shrill sound of her phone vibrating on the table.

"Just ignore it, Linds," Danny whispered in her ear when she broke the kiss to glare over at her phone. "Baby, please."

She was tempted, she really was. And Danny's soft kisses to her neck were a convincing argument. But it could be important. It could be Danny's mom calling about a problem with Lucy, or it could be...

"Shit," she said, sitting up and grabbing the phone. Her instincts were right - it was a message from Hawkes. They were at the hospital, just waiting for Stella to visit the gift shop. They would be up in a few minutes and he wanted to know if they could come all together, or whether it would be better if they came one at a time.

"What? What is it, Linds?" Danny asked, his hoarse voice laced with worry.

"Oh, sorry, Dan," she said. "It's nothing bad. Just Hawkes. He's downstairs with Mac, Stella and Adam and they want to know if they can come up to see you."

Danny grinned at her. "And that's a bad thing because..."

She stuck her tongue out at him as she typed in a response to Hawkes.

"Because I'm feeling selfish and I want you all to myself," she said, smiling as Danny's face lit up. She felt her phone vibrate once again in her hand, glancing down to see Hawkes's reply.

"They'll be up in a few minutes," she said. She leaned down and kissed him once more on the lips before moving to get up off the bed, but she was stilled by Danny's hand on her arm.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"I'm just going to wash my face," she replied. "In case you hadn't noticed, I'm kind of a mess."

"You look just fine to me," he said, rubbing her arm affectionately, "Beautiful, in fact."

She shook her head, smiling at him.

"Yeah, well you're biased," she said, standing up and turning to face him. "But thank you."

She pulled her arm away, his fingers trailing down her arm until he was holding her hand. She gave his fingers a light squeeze before releasing his hand and heading to the bathroom. She splashed cold water on her face, feeling invigorated and refreshed. She patted her face dry with a towel then took a good look at her reflection in the mirror. There were dark circles under her eyes, and she looked tired and worn out. She sighed, turning away from the mirror. She felt anything but beautiful with her puffy eyes, pale skin and her hair still rumpled from sleeping. She ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to give it some semblance of it's intended style.

She walked back into the room and returned the smile that Danny gave her from his bed.

"Better?" he asked.

"Better," she replied as she sat in the chair at his bedside.

"Linds?"

"Yeah, Danny?"

"Come sit with me," he said, patting the bed beside him. "Please?"

"Danny, everybody's going to be here in a minute," she said.

"So?"

"So? I just... it's different, lying there with you when it's just the two of us, Dan."

"Can I tell you a secret, Linds?" he asked, crooking his finger at her, asking her to lean forward. She did so, and he whispered in her ear. "I think they already know we're married, babe. Plus, we have a kid, so... I think it's safe to say that sitting on my hospital bed with me isn't really all that scandalous."

She leaned back and smiled as he winked at her.

"I know that, Danny," she said, rolling her eyes. "But, after... after that video, I'm just still not comfortable. Being intimate like that when it's just us alone... it feels good... it feels right. But I'm not ready for anything more than that right now."

Danny reached out and took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers.

"I know, Lindsay," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry you had to go through that, and that it still haunts you. If you need time, then I can wait. But I'm not asking for anything more than to hold you, to have you sit beside me, or to hold your hand. I don't think I could take much more than that right now, anyway. I don't want you to be uncomfortable, Linds. But I promise to keep it strictly PG for as long as it takes for us both to be ready, okay?"

She looked down at their joined hands, then lifted her gaze to his face. He was so open and honest with her, and she knew that if she really didn't want to, he wouldn't force her or try to make her feel bad. But she sensed that he needed her, needed to feel close to her, and if she was honest with herself she missed the familiarity and comfort of his touch, his warmth. With a resigned sigh she stood up, sliding onto the bed and once again cuddling up beside him as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he whispered, gently rubbing her back. "I love you, Lindsay."

"I Love you too, Danny," she replied, nuzzling into his side, her arm draped over his stomach as they waited for their friends to arrive.

* * *

Stella was proud of herself. As Mac and Hawkes had requested, she had shown considerable restraint in selecting the flowers for Danny. Not that there had been much choice in the flowershop downstairs. But they were simple and not too big, and as far as Stella was concerned they were still fairly masculine. Well, as masculine as a bouquet of flowers could be, Stella thought, smiling to herself. Of course she hadn't been able to resist buying a small stuffed animal, telling herself that it was for Lucy. And there were a few balloons thrown in for good measure. But all in all, it was tasteful and unfussy.

She carried the flowers in one hand, the balloons clutched tightly in the other, the small bear tucked under her arm as she made her way down the hall to the visitor's waiting room where she was meeting up with the guys. Rounding the doorway, she stepped into the room, smiling as Mac, Hawkes and Adam looked up at her. Hawkes shook his head, a wide grin on his face, and Mac gave her a knowing smile.

"We were beginning to wonder where you were. I was about to send a search party out to look for you," Mac said, "When you said you were keeping it simple, we should have known that simple for you is a little different from what we humble men would consider simple."

"What?" Stella asked, gazing down at her wares. "This _is _simple. You should have seen the one that I wanted to get. But there was this little voice in the back of my head... a voice that sounded surprisingly like yours, Sheldon... that kept telling me _less is more_."

"Or, you know, more is more," Hawkes said, walking up to Stella and playfully tugging on the string attached to one of the balloons. "You have _met _Danny, right? He's not really a flowers, balloons and cute fluffy teddy bears kind of guy."

"Well, Lindsay will appreciate them," Stella huffed. "And the bear is for Lucy."

"Ah, okay," Hawkes said, grinning at her. "Gotcha." Turning to Mac and Adam, he shrugged his shoulders. "So, no time like the present, right?" he asked.

They all nodded their heads eagerly before heading out the door and down the hall toward Danny's room.

* * *

"We're not interrupting anything, are we?" Mac asked as he knocked on the doorjamb, smiling at the two figures lying on Danny's narrow hospital bed.

"Of course not," Lindsay said, beckoning Mac and the others into the room. "We were just waiting for you."

"Danny, oh honey, it's so good to see you!" Stella said, walking around the bed to Danny's side. She set the flowers down on the bedside table before leaning down and hugging him ever so gently. Pulling back and brushing the tears from her eyes, she smiled down at Danny.

"Hey Stell," he rasped, returning the smile. "How're you doing?"

"How am I doing?" Stella asked, laughing. "Who the hell cares? I'm fine, Danny. How are you? Your voice sounds... painful."

"Yeah, the doctor keeps telling me I shouldn't talk so much," Danny said.

"Yeah, well fat chance. We've been telling you that for years," Mac interjected, a smile on his face.

"Oh shush, Mac. Leave him alone," Stella said, smacking him lightly on the arm.

"Alright, alright," Mac said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm sorry. No picking on Danny until he's at least a little bit better."

Stella narrowed her eyes at Mac before turning back to Danny and Lindsay. She picked up the bouquet of flowers and handed it to Danny. "These are for you," she said, "And these," she indicated to the balloons that she had tied to the railing of his bed. "And this is for Lucy," she finished, setting the bear down on the table.

"Wow, Stell," Danny said, as he accepted the flowers. For some unfathomable reason, Stella had gotten him a bouquet made up of pink and white flowers, tied with a big pink ribbon. He looked up and could see Hawkes, Mac and Adam all trying to suppress their smiles. "They're...uh..." Danny's mind went blank as he tried to think of something to say that wouldn't hurt Stella's feelings. Suddenly, his mind flashed back to an old rerun of Seinfeld, and he smiled warmly up at Stella. "They're breathtaking," he said. Danny shot Adam a death glare as he let out a loud snort, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. "Thanks, Stella," he finished.

She gave him a knowing smile, reaching out and patting him gently on the cheek.

"It's okay, Dan," she said. "I know they're kind of girly. But I did what I could on short notice. _Someone _wouldn't let me call the florist at work last night, and all they had left in the shop downstairs this morning was stuff for new baby girls. I asked them to make it as manly as possible."

Danny raised his eyebrows and looked up at Stella.

"Really? This is manly?" he asked, incredulous. "Wow. I'd be kind of scared to see what a girly bouquet looks like."

"You don't even want to know, Dan," Stella said, shaking her head. "You're head would probably explode."

"Aw, thanks for always looking out for me, Stell," he said. He handed the flowers over to Lindsay who set them on the table at her side.

"Anytime, Danny," she said, winking at him. She leaned down and gave him another quick and careful hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," she said softly as she embraced him. "You look after yourself, alright? Because I don't think any of us can take that kind of stress again."

"Yes, ma'am," Danny replied. He smiled at Stella as she stepped back, wiping at her eyes again with a Kleenex pulled from her pocket. As she stepped back, Adam moved forward. He smiled broadly down at Danny before reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a rolled-up magazine, handing it over to Danny, who looked up at him questioningly.

"Uh… just, um, something I thought maybe you'd like," he said, "Something, um, to maybe help you pass the time… so you don't get bored."

Danny unrolled the magazine, his eyes lighting up as he saw what it was.

"Aw, thanks, man!" Danny said, flipping through the motorcycle magazine, "This is awesome!"

Lindsay shook her head, smiling at Adam.

"Thanks a lot, Adam," she said. "I just get him back, and now he'll be lost in that magazine, drooling over the pictures."

"Don't worry so much, Montana," Danny said, grinning up at her. "Besides, I only read it for the articles." Lindsay let out a groan as Danny winked up at Adam. "Thanks man, that's really thoughtful of you."

"No problem, Danny," Adam said, blushing at Danny's gratitude. "Um, I'm just… I'm really glad… um, we missed you."

Danny smiled up at his younger friend before reaching out and holding his fist out. Adam grinned down at him before lightly punching his own fist against Danny's.

"Yeah, well you can't get rid of me that easy, Adam," Danny said. "Don't worry. I'll be back making your life miserable in no time, got it?"

"Bring it, Messer," Adam replied, a huge grin spread across his face.

"Okay, boys. Enough showboating, alright? We are all suitably impressed by your masculine bonding, but enough already!" Stella admonished the boys, laughing as Adam blushed a deep red. "I swear the two of them were about to start grunting," she said grinning at Lindsay who let out a snort of laughter.

"Sexy, Linds," Danny said, rolling his eyes at Hawkes who had exchanged places with Adam at his bedside. "Hey, Doc," Danny said, smiling and nodding his head.

"Hey, man," Hawkes replied. Even though Danny was putting on a brave show for his friends, he couldn't fool Hawkes who quickly took in Danny's appearance, noticing that he was looking very thin and pale, and his voice really did sound pretty painful. From what Hawkes could tell without completing a proper examination, his breathing sounded a bit better, although even from where he stood, he could still hear a faint rattle. He decided to have a quick word with Danny's doctor before he headed home. "You feeling okay, Danny?"

Danny looked back at Hawkes, raising his hand and giving him the _so-so _signal. "Yeah, well, you know. I feel okay until I don't anymore. And then everything hurts like hell," he replied. "Then they drug me up and knock me out for a few hours, I wake up confused, wondering where the hell I am, and then the whole cycle starts all over again. Like clockwork."

"That's rough, Danny," Hawkes said. "That really sucks."

"Yeah, it is, and it does," Danny agreed. "But it's worth it," he said, looking at Lindsay and giving her a little squeeze. "And it's a hell of a lot better than the alternative, I guess."

Hawkes looked down at Lindsay who was resting against Danny's shoulder, her arms once again wrapped protectively around him. He gave her a small smile. "And how're you doing, Linds?" he asked.

She looked up at Hawkes from her place at Danny's side and gave him a tired smile. "Much better, thanks Sheldon," she replied. "Tired, but happy."

"That's good," he said. "I'm glad for you both. You take care, and you let us know if you need anything, alright?"

"You got it, Doc," Danny said. "And… thanks, Hawkes. For looking after us… you know," Danny looked down at Lindsay and gently stroked her face. "I don't remember everything yet, but from what Lindsay and Flack tell me, you were pretty involved in everything that went down in that… that room." He looked up at Hawkes, biting his lip. "I can't tell you how much I appreciate you putting yourself on the line like that… being there with Linds."

Hawkes held up his hands in protest, shaking his head. "I'd do it again in a heartbeat, my friend," he said. "You've been there for me I don't know how many times, Danny. Remember when I got hurt diving? That could have been the end of me, but you had my back, you put yourself in danger to help me. What kind of friend would I be if I wasn't willing to do the same?"

"Well, thanks again anyways, Doc," Danny said, holding his hand out for Hawkes to shake. Hawkes reached out and took Danny's hand, carefully pulling him in for a quick hug.

"That's what we do, man," Hawkes said. "We look out for one another. You asked me after the diving incident if I would have done the same for you… and now you know. Hands down, yes I would."

He smiled down at his friends before turning and walking to stand with Stella and Adam, allowing Mac his moment with the couple. He sat down in the chair beside Danny's bed, resting his elbows on his knees. He looked up at Danny before turning to Stella and the others.

"You guys mind if I talk to Danny privately for a few minutes?" he asked.

"Uh, sure, Mac," Stella said. "We'll go get some coffee or something, right guys?"

"It's on me," Mac said, pulling out his wallet and handing Stella some cash. "Grab me a black coffee and a sesame seed bagel with cream cheese."

"You got it, Mac," she said, moving from the room with Hawkes and Adam on her heels. "Lindsay, Danny, you want anything?"

"No thanks, Stell," Danny said, shaking his head. "Not allowed to eat or drink anything just yet. Just the IV and the ice chips."

Stella gave him a sympathetic smile before turning questioningly to Lindsay.

"Lindsay? Anything?"

Lindsay looked over at Mac who gave her an apologetic smile. She nodded her head slightly, understanding that when he said he wanted to speak with Danny privately, he meant it. "Um, I'll come too," she said. "My legs could do with a bit of a stretch, and I'm dying for a coffee." Before jumping down off the bed, she leaned in and cupped Danny's face in her hands. "Love you," she whispered.

"I know," he replied. "Love you too."

She placed a soft kiss to his lips and then turned and followed her friends from the room, giving Danny one last look over her shoulder before he was out of sight.

Once they were alone, Mac let out a deep sigh and looked over at Danny, who looked back at him, his expression worried. Mac dropped his gaze to stare down at his hands as he spoke.

"I've lost a few co-workers in my time, Danny," Mac said softly. "Aiden and Angell, just to name a few. Losing a colleague is always hard, and those two in particular really hurt, I'm not going to pretend that they didn't." He paused, clearly torn about what he was going to say next. Danny watched him carefully. In all his years working with Mac, he had never seen him look so lost, so indecisive. Finally, Mac stopped fidgeting, looking up and meeting Danny's gaze. "But this was something else, Danny. This was far worse. We all thought we'd lost you, and I remember feeling like I'd not only lost a friend, but... well," he sighed, scrubbing his face with his hands. "Shit, I'm not very good with this kind of thing." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, giving Danny a shaky smile.

"I know I haven't always made things easy for you, Danny. And sometimes you may have even thought I was being unfairly hard on you."

"Mac..."

"No, please, Danny. I need to say this, okay?" he said. "I know I've been hard on you. I know that, and I also know that for a long time you probably resented me for it. But I need you to know why, Danny."

Danny watched as Mac stood up, pacing around the room as he spoke, his words coming fast as he tried to get his thoughts out in a way that made sense.

"The truth is, I saw a lot of myself as a young man in you, and I wanted to take you under my wing and help you be the best man that you could be," he said. "Now I'm not saying that the person you are today has anything to do with me, because I'm not that naïve. But when I look at you now, I am just so proud of you, Danny." As Danny started to protest, Mac held up his hand to silence him. "No, Danny. Listen to me. You're strong and loyal, you're dedicated to your family, your friends and your job, and even though we haven't always seen eye to eye on every subject, I admire your tenacity and your willingness to fight for what you believe in."

Danny felt his eyes start to prickle with tears. Ever since he'd started working for Mac Taylor, he'd always had the sinking feeling that he was letting him down, disappointing him in some way. Hearing Mac say that he was proud of him, that he saw something of himself in Danny was just so incredible. It was a moment before he realized that Mac was speaking again, and he looked back up at his friend and boss, giving him his full and undivided attention.

"Do you remember the conversation we had a few years ago, about how you were afraid you wouldn't be able to be a good husband and father?" Mac asked.

Danny slowly nodded his head.

"Well," Mac continued, "I told you that not having children with Claire was the greatest regret of my life. Do you remember that too?"

Silently, Danny nodded again. Mac let out a sigh, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat. He coughed to clear his throat, trying not to let his emotions get the better of him before he could get out everything he wanted to say to Danny.

"Well, what I didn't tell you that day is that, well, for a long time now I've... I've looked at you as a... well, you're the closest thing I've ever had to a son, Danny. And when I thought that we'd lost you... well, I was devastated."

Mac stared down at his hands once again, unable to look at Danny. Had he done so, he would have seen a look of pure shock on the younger man's face as he processed what Mac had just said. Danny sat in silence, his mind in a whirl. He knew that Mac had always expected a lot out of him, and when he had first started at the lab, he figured that Mac was pushing him because of his background, his history with the Tanglewood Boys, testing him to see if he would break. But over time, their relationship had changed from one of constant discord to one of mutual respect and finally friendship. And now, to hear from Mac's own mouth that the thought of Danny as family? As a son? The tears that had been prickling at the back of his eyes now began to build up in his eyes, making his vision blurry.

"Mac?" he asked, his voice trembling. Mac looked up, his own eyes glistening. "That's... I'm... I don't know what to say," he said quietly, wiping at his eyes. "I've always been grateful that you took a chance on me, and I think when I first started, I just tried too hard to impress you, to make you believe that you hadn't made the wrong choice in hiring me. I've always been afraid that somehow I would let you down, make you regret your decision."

"Danny, I may not always agree with the way that you do things, but I have never, not even once, regretted my decision to hire you," Mac said.

"I know that now, Mac," Danny replied, giving him a rueful smile. "I also know that maybe I haven't always been as grateful as I should have been to have someone like you on my side, fighting for me, even when I didn't really deserve it. But I want you to know that I am grateful, and I do appreciate all the chances you've given me over the years, and how you were always there for me when I needed you most. And for what it's worth, I think you would have made a great father," Danny said, watching as Mac's eyes shone with pride. "Linds and me, we wouldn't have asked you to be Lucy's godfather if we didn't truly believe that."

Mac nodded his head, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and blowing his nose before meeting Danny's gaze.

"Thank you, Danny," Mac said. "It means a lot to hear you say that. When you and Lindsay asked me to be Lucy's godfather, well, it was one of the proudest moments of my life."

"We couldn't think of anyone we'd rather have looking out for her if something were to happen to either of us."

Both men were silent as they each contemplated how close they had come to that eventuality, thanks to David Shorewood. The silence was broken as Danny started to cough. Mac glanced up at him, seeing fatigue and pain written on his face.

"You okay, Danny?" he asked quietly, placing a comforting hand on Danny's arm.

Danny closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillows, nodding his head slightly.

"Yeah, yeah," he said. "I'm just... I've got a tickle in my throat. The painkillers are wearing off and..." he winced as a fresh wave of pain coursed through his body as his coughs increased in volume and force. "Oh, God," he moaned. "Get a nurse. I need a nurse."

Mac jumped up from his chair as he listened to Danny's breathing become more laboured as his pain increased. He moved quickly out into the hallway, glancing around to find someone - anyone - that could help him.

"Excuse me, miss?" he asked a young brunette nurse as she hurried down the hall.

"Yes?" Nora replied.

"It's Danny," Mac said, pointing into the room where Danny was currently writhing in agony on the bed. "He's... he needs... he's in a lot of pain."

"Okay, sir," Nora said, nodding her head. "I'll need you to wait out here, alright?"

Mac nodded his head as Nora pushed past him into Danny's room. He watched from the hall as she quickly and expertly assessed Danny, listening to his chest before checking his chart and administering another dose of medication. Mac's heart pounded in his chest as he watched Danny's body continue to twist in pain. Nora calmly stood by his bedside monitoring him, and after a few moments, Mac breathed a sigh of relief as Danny appeared to relax and finally the coughing stopped. Nora made a few notes on his chart before coming back out into the hall to stand beside Mac.

"Is he alright?"

"I think he'll be fine," she said, placing a reassuring hand on his arm and smiling warmly up at him. "His body just has a very painful way of telling him that he's had enough and he needs to take it easy. We keep telling him to stop pushing himself so hard, stop talking too much, or he's going to end up with that tube back down his throat. I just gave him his next dose of painkillers, as well as an anti-inflammatory medication that should make breathing easier. I'll get his doctor to stop by and check on him again in a little while, and he'll determine what our next steps will be. But right now, he needs to rest." Nora's voice was kind but firm, indicating that for now, visiting hours were over.

Mac nodded his understanding, taking one last look at Danny sleeping peacefully before he smiled at Nora, then turned and headed off to the cafeteria to find the others.

**

* * *

**

Okay, so I'll admit, I'm a little nervous about this chapter, specifically the conversation between Danny and Mac. I hope it didn't come across as too sentimental or cheesy. I just thought that it was time that Mac finally came out and said what we already know about how he feels toward Danny.

**Other than that, I hope you enjoyed seeing Danny reconnect with the rest of the team, as well as the little D/L scene at the beginning.**

**Please, drop me a line or leave a review. I'm dying to know your thoughts!**


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N: I am once again absolutely thunderstruck by your response to the last chapter. Thank you all so much, I'm really touched by some of the wonderful comments I received. You guys are way too good to me! **

**So, this chapter is kind of a two-parter. I hope it doesn't feel too disjointed. I wrote the first part several days ago, but just couldn't find the time to finish the chapter. And when I finally got around to it, the muse had decided on something completely different. She's so damn stubborn! So I've kind of mashed the two parts together, hoping for the best. *crosses fingers***

**Please enjoy (and don't be too hard on me!) Chapter 25**

* * *

Mac arrived in the cafeteria to find a very anxious group of people waiting for him. Stella gave him a small smile, pushing a coffee and bagel toward him as he sat down.

"Thanks Stella," he said as he picked up the coffee and took a cautious sip. He was right to take it slow – the liquid was scalding hot, thick and tarry. But it was caffeine, and at this point, that was all he was really after.

"Everything alright?" Stella asked quietly.

Mac nodded his head, noticing that there were four pairs of curious eyes staring at him, wondering what it was that he had needed to talk to Danny about. "Yeah, everything's fine. Danny's sleeping now."

Taking another sip, he looked across the table at Lindsay. She looked tired and worn out, her brow furrowed as she slowly picked apart a blueberry muffin.

"Lindsay? You alright?" he asked.

"Hmmm? Sorry Mac, what?" she asked, looking up from her menial task before wiping her hands and pushing the crumbled mess away from her.

"You're miles away, kiddo," Stella said, reaching out a hand and laying it comfortingly over Lindsay's.

"Actually, it's more like I'm four floors up," Lindsay said, giving Stella a small smile. "Sorry."

"No need to apologize, Lindsay," Mac said. "You've had a rough few weeks, you've got a lot on your mind. We all understand. It's not been easy for you, either of you."

"I think that's the understatement of the year, Mac," she replied, leaning back and crossing her arms over her chest.

"When was the last time you slept, Linds?" Hawkes asked, concern evident on his face.

"I got an hour or two this morning with Danny," she said. "And before that… I don't know. I tried sleeping last night, but..." she gave them all a rueful smile. "It's funny. Before, I was worried that he wouldn't wake up. Now I'm worried that he'll wake up and I won't be there."

"You know, as glad as I'm sure he is to see you, sweetie," Stella said, "he wouldn't want you to run yourself ragged for his sake. You can't burn both ends of the candle, Lindsay. It's not good for you. And I think Danny would probably beat himself up if he thought that you were stretching yourself too thin on his account."

Lindsay looked around the table at her friends, concern and sympathy displayed clearly on all their faces.

"What else can I do?" she asked in a small voice. "I can't just leave him here by himself. You haven't seen him… you don't know how awful it is to watch him wake up, surrounded by all these things that are constant reminders of Shorewood. The hospital bed, the machinery, everything. He's terrified when he wakes up, and if someone isn't there to talk him down, I… I don't know what would happen."

She looked down at her hands, toying with her wedding ring as she continued. "But this morning, for the first time, he was okay when he woke up. He said that knowing I was there, it made him feel safe. You have no idea how good that made me feel. I felt like I could finally do something for him, instead of just sitting there waiting."

"Is there, um, something we could do?" Adam asked, glancing over at Lindsay. "I mean, I know that I would be happy to… to sit with Danny if it made you feel better. I don't mind."

"Yeah, it wouldn't be a problem," Hawkes pitched in. "If you need a break, let one of us know. We'll make sure someone is with him. Or if you need someone to take Lucy for a while, I know I wouldn't mind hanging out with her for a bit."

Lindsay felt tears welling up in her eyes at the show of support from her friends. "Oh, you guys," she said, wiping at her cheeks, "Thank you. But you've all done so much already. I couldn't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking," Mac said. "We're offering. And we won't take no for an answer."

"Thank you," she said. "Thank you so much, you guys. I don't know how we're ever going to be able to repay you all for everything you've done for us."

"Hey, like I told Danny upstairs, this is what friends do, Lindsay," Hawkes said. "We stick together, when one of us is in need, we're there."

Lindsay gave him a watery smile before taking a tissue from her pocket and blowing her nose.

"Thanks guys," she said. "I don't know what we'd do without you."

* * *

Dr. Howard was relatively pleased with his patient's recovery. His wounds were healing nicely, although there was still a lot of pain and swelling at the surgical sites on his wrist and his chest, but that was to be expected. He'd suffered a slight setback when he had contracted a minor infection in his lungs, but after a few days of antibiotics, the infection seemed to be clearing up and Dr. Howard was looking forward to giving Danny a few pieces of good news.

He walked down the hallway, rapping his knuckles lightly on Danny's door before pushing it open and peering inside. He saw Danny sitting up in bed, chatting quietly with a tall, dark haired man about the same age. They appeared to be deep in discussion, and Dr. Howard wasn't sure that his knock had been heard. Standing in the doorway, he softly cleared his throat to announce his presence. Two heads turned to look up at him, and Danny gave him a small welcoming smile.

"Hey, Doc," he said. His voice was still slightly hoarse, although not nearly as bad as it had been. "Come on in."

Dr. Howard walked into the room, extending his hand to the dark-haired fellow sitting in the chair at Danny's bedside.

"Hi there," he said. "I'm Dr. Howard, Danny's surgeon."

"Don Flack," the young man said, standing and reaching across Danny's bed to shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Don."

"You too, doctor," he said smiling as he retook his seat.

"So, how are you doing today, Danny?" Dr. Howard asked.

"I don't know, Doc," he replied, nodding his head at the folder clasped in the doctor's hands. "Why don't you tell me?"

Dr. Howard smiled down at his patient, nodding his head as he flipped open the file. He paused, glancing across the bed at Flack before giving Danny a questioning look.

"Whatever it is you've got to tell me, you can say in front of Don," Danny said.

"You sure, Danny?" Flack asked. "I mean, I can go grab a coffee or something. I don't want to intrude."

"Nah, it's fine," Danny said. He looked up at Dr. Howard, hesitating. "Unless it's something bad…"

"No, no. Nothing bad," Dr. Howard said, smiling as he pulled up a chair on Danny's other side. "Just a few quick things I want to go over with you, see how you're progressing. And maybe, just maybe, we can get you out of here this afternoon."

Danny's eyes lit up at the prospect of getting out of the hospital.

"But I do have a few things to go over with you before I can discharge you," Dr. Howard continued. "So…"

"So, maybe I should take a hike?" Flack said good-naturedly. Dr. Howard smiled apologetically at him. "No problem. I'll be right outside, alright? Just holler if you need me, Danno."

With that, he reached out, patting Danny's shoulder before standing and walking out into the hall. Dr. Howard turned his attention back to Danny.

"I hear from the nurses that you're managing your pain a bit better," he said, consulting the chart. "I can see that the dosages of the painkillers have decreased in quantity and in frequency over the past few days, which is a good sign." Danny nodded his head. "And I also see that your latest cultures show that the infection in your lungs is almost completely gone now. I think another day or two of antibiotics should do the trick. I'll be sure to get a prescription down to the dispensary before you leave, alright?"

Danny nodded his head eagerly. "Yeah, that would be great. Thanks."

Dr. Howard gazed down at the notes in front of him, not sure how to broach the next subject. He took a deep breath before looking up at Danny. "And how about the panic attacks?" he asked. "And the nightmares. Are you still having those, Danny?"

He watched carefully as Danny shifted uncomfortably, looking down at his hands which were nervously twisting and untwisting the blanket that covered his legs. Danny bit his lip, inclining his head slightly, indicating that he was still suffering psychologically.

"It's… it's not so bad now," he said, his voice small, and Dr. Howard noticed a faint blush creeping across his cheeks as he spoke. "It's mostly when I wake up, but it gets better when there's someone there. Someone familiar." He continued to fidget with the blanket, still not meeting Dr. Howard's gaze. "But… when I wake up, alone, I…" he cleared his throat, trying to hide the fact that his voice was shaking ever so slightly. "I can't snap out of it. I can still see him, hear his voice… I feel paralyzed. I can't move. Can't breathe. I get so…"

"It's okay to be scared, Danny. It's nothing to be ashamed of," Dr. Howard said kindly. "It's only natural after what you've been through. "

"Yeah, I know," he replied morosely. He hung his head, staring down at his hands which were now clenched in tight fists in his lap. "But I just feel so… so helpless. And I don't like it. I don't like being afraid."

Dr. Howard reached out, placing a reassuring hand on Danny's shoulder. "The nurses told me about what happened the other day," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Danny sighed. He knew what Dr. Howard was referring to. The previous morning, a pair of nurses had come into his room to run some routine tests, wanting to check his vitals, including an EKG which required them to place electrodes at various points on his body, including his chest, neck and face. He had felt the first hints of panic when he had seen the electrodes laid out on the tray, but he had told himself that the nurses were there to help him. He repeated the mantra over and over to himself as the nurses worked, placing the sticky little pads on his chest. But when they came at his face armed with the electrodes, his mind had instantly been transported back to Shorewood's makeshift hospital room, his muscles immediately contracting in fear of the painful shocks he knew would follow. No amount of soothing words or coaxing on the part of the nurses could calm him down, and he had let out a primal scream, thrashing around on the bed, desperate to protect himself from harm. In the end, the nurses had been forced to sedate him, and the last thing he remembered was two pairs of eyes staring down at him with pity written all over their faces as he slipped into unconsciousness.

His face flushed bright red at the memory. His reaction was not something he was proud of. Losing complete control like that, it made him nervous. What if he was out in public, or even at home with Lindsay and Lucy and something startled him, took him back to that room where he had endured so much pain. Would he be able to control himself? To calm himself down enough to deal with the situation rationally? At this point, he wasn't sure at all.

He looked up and met Dr. Howard's gaze. The doctor gave him a small, comforting smile.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it to me," he said. "But I really think that you should consider getting yourself in to see a therapist or a counsellor of some kind once you go home." Seeing the hesitation in Danny's eyes, Dr. Howard continued. "Their job isn't to judge you, Danny. It's someone to talk to. Someone to help you work through these feelings and, eventually, to move past them so that you can get on with a normal life, not having to worry about being afraid. I'm not going to lie to you. It won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. But I would be happy to set something up with a colleague of mine if you'd like."

Danny gazed back down at his hands, twisting his wedding band on his finger.

"Danny?" Dr. Howard prompted. He sighed, reaching into his pocket and retrieving a business card and placing it on Danny's bedside table. "I'm just going to leave this here for you, alright. Please, just think about it. I can't make you go, but I think it would do you the world of good. You and your wife."

Danny looked up at the mention of Lindsay.

"What?"

"Danny, you've both been through a lot," Dr. Howard said, "And I'm sure that you are not the only one with lingering issues stemming from your experience. I've met your wife, she's a lovely woman, and I can tell that she loves you a lot. And from the way you talk about her, I get the feeling that you're pretty crazy about her too."

Danny smiled, nodding his head. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Dr. Howard smiled back at Danny. "Just think about it, okay? Talk to your wife, see if she's open to it," he said. "You can choose to go separately or together, but I think that if you give it a chance, you might be surprised by how much of a relief it is to talk about what you've been through. Help one another understand how you're feeling and why."

Danny nodded his head. "I'll think about it, okay Doc?"

"That's all I ask, Danny," Dr. Howard replied. He placed his hands on his knees, pushing himself up to a standing position. "Now, I'm going to go get your discharge papers ready. Do you want someone to call your wife, or will you get your friend to take you home?"

"I'll get Don to call Lindsay. Thanks, Dr. Howard."

"No problem." he said. "I'll need to see you in about three weeks to check on your incisions. I'll send home some instructions on how to change the dressings on your wounds, as well as a list of the medications you'll be on and how often you need to take them. You'll also need to make an appointment with a physical therapist to help rebuild the strength in your wrist, so I'll get you a referral. And I'll call down to the dispensary to get your prescriptions filled for the antibiotics, as well as the painkillers, alright?"

"Thanks," Danny said, extending his hand for the doctor to shake. "And I promise to talk to Lindsay about the whole therapy thing."

"It's been a pleasure, Danny. Good luck," Dr. Howard said, smiling as he released Danny's hand and turned to stride from the room. Out in the hallway, he ran into Flack who was standing at the nurse's station talking animatedly to Nora. He smiled at the dark-haired man, nodding his head in the direction of Danny's room. "He's ready for you."

"Oh, thanks Dr. Howard," Flack said. He smiled at Nora before heading back to Danny's room.

* * *

"You gonna miss this place, Danny?" Flack asked as he helped pack up the last of Danny's things, shoving them into the small suitcase Lindsay had brought over just after he'd first woken up.

"Not as much as you, Flack," he replied, wincing as he sat up on the bed. He grinned at his friend's surprised expression. "What? You think I didn't notice you flirting with Nora when you thought I wasn't looking?"

"It's nothing, Dan," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "She just took pity on me, sitting here all alone while your lazy ass slept all the time. Somebody had to keep me company."

"Uh huh," Danny said. "Just don't expect me to get hurt again just so you can get lucky. I mean, you're my best friend, but there's a limit to what I'll do for you."

"Shut up," Flack said, trying to busy himself with zipping up the suitcase. Danny was pleased to see a blush on his friend's face.

"She's cute," Danny said as he stood up, his legs feeling a bit shaky after so many days of disuse. "You should ask her out while you can still use me as an excuse to be here."

"I already did," Flack answered. Danny looked at his friend, smiling broadly. "Yeah, we're going to a movie when she gets off work tomorrow night."

"Good for you, man!" Danny replied, genuinely happy for Flack. "She's really nice. Linds likes her a lot. Now I just need to make sure I get a chance to warn her about what an asshole you are before she gets herself in too deep."

Flack grinned at Danny once the suitcase was zipped and resting on its wheels on the floor. He watched Danny take a few hesitant steps toward the bathroom to get changed and clean himself up.

"You need a hand, Dan?" he asked, all joking aside.

"Nah, I'm good," he said as he shuffled slowly across the room, reaching out to steady himself against the wall. "God, why do they put the bathrooms so far away in these fucking places."

Flack chuckled, handing Danny his clothes and his bag of toiletries as he finally made it to the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

Once inside, Danny took a good look at himself. He was surprised by his appearance. Since he'd been in the hospital, he hadn't really gotten a good look at himself, partly because getting up to use the bathroom was too painful, and partly out of fear for what he would see.

He looked haggard. He had dark circles under his eyes, which were still slightly swollen from his allergic reaction, and his skin was pale and sallow. His beard had grown much longer than he usually kept it, making him appear scruffy and unkempt. The upside of the beard was that it covered the majority of the bruises on his jaw from where Shorewood had beaten him.

His hair was sticking out all over the place in wild little tufts. He smiled, knowing that Lindsay loved his hair first thing in the morning. She was always commenting that it made him look so boyish, and she loved to run her fingers through it. But he doubted she would find anything positive to say about the mare's nest on top of his head at the moment. It needed a cut and he couldn't wait to get home and have a shower, washing off the smell and the lingering miasma of the hospital once and for all.

As he pulled the hospital gown off his upper body, he grimaced at the fading bruises all over his torso. He knew that some of them were from where the paramedics had performed CPR on him in the ambulance on the way over, Flack having filled him in on the whole horrific experience. But the most disturbing one was a dark greenish-purple blob that looked unnervingly like a fist. He shivered as he remembered Shorewood punching him just below his ribcage, catching him right in the diaphragm. It was here that he still had the most pain of all his injuries, aside from the two bandaged surgical scars on his wrist and chest.

He ran his fingers over the white gauze covering the left side of his ribs. From what he understood from Dr. Howard, the bullet had nicked two of his ribs, grazing between them before puncturing his lung. He took a deep, tentative breath, holding it for as long as possible, just as the doctor had instructed him to do to help build up his lung capacity once more. He let his breath out in a loud whoosh, disappointed in himself for only being able to hold it in for a few seconds before the pain became too great.

He could still see traces of the rash that had been his first indication that something was wrong, what seemed like an eternity ago, back in the courtyard outside the crime lab. A scab had formed where he'd scratched himself to the point of bleeding moments before Shorewood had turned up and whisked him away. Danny leaned forward on the counter, hanging his head. How could he have been so stupid? How could he not have known? He had been so distracted, he hadn't even considered what it was he was eating until it was too late.

Since then, he'd been extremely cautious with his food, making sure that the orderly who brought him his meals knew that he couldn't have any peanuts, and carefully pushing his food around on his plate, searching for any traces of the deadly nut. When Lindsay had been around during mealtimes, he'd force himself to choke down a few bites, just for show. But in truth, he'd barely eaten in days, as the thought of food in general made his stomach turn.

He raised his head, looking at himself once again. His body, once hard and toned, looked sickly and overly thin. It would be a long time before he was physically well enough to get back to the gym, and he felt a twinge of nervousness at the thought of Lindsay seeing him like this. What would she think? Not even considering the scars that marred his body, he knew that he had changed. And even though he realized that it was ridiculous, a part of him wondered if Lindsay would still find him even remotely desirable.

A soft knock on the door interrupted his thoughts.

"Baby? Can I come in?"

"Just a second, Linds," he said, grabbing a t-shirt from the pile of clothes Flack had handed him and pulling it over his head, letting out a hiss of pain as he tried to cover himself as quickly as possible.

"Danny? Are you alright?" Lindsay asked, and Danny could hear the concern in her voice. "Baby? I'm coming in."

"No, honey I'm fine," he said, pulling the t-shirt into place just as the door inched open and Lindsay poked her head inside. "Hey."

"Hey," she said, sliding into the bathroom and closing the door behind her. "You okay? I thought you were in pain."

"Yeah, so what else is new?" Danny asked wryly.

She looked at him, her eyebrows raised. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just getting myself all prettied up for you."

She smiled at him, taking a step forward and raising her hand to gently caress his cheek. "You don't have to do that, Danny," she asked, pressing a kiss to his whiskered chin. "You know that I will always think that you're beautiful."

He looked down at his wife who was staring back at him with such love and sincerity in her eyes, and he couldn't help but blush self-consciously. "Thank you," he whispered.

"Anytime, Dan," she replied, rubbing her nose against his affectionately before capturing his lips in a sweet and tender kiss. "You ready to go home?" she asked after pulling away and resting her forehead against his own.

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, I am. I just need to finish getting changed, then I'll be right out."

"You want some help?" she asked.

"No, I'll be fine," he said. "Can you just take a quick look around the room, make sure Flack didn't forget to pack anything? I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I left one of Lucy's pictures behind, or her bear."

Lindsay stepped back and smiled at him, sensing that he just needed a moment to himself, to pull himself together before facing the reality of life outside the hospital.

"Okay," she said. "I'll be right outside if you need me."

"Thanks, Linds," he said, watching as she opened the door and stepped out of the room before closing the door quietly behind her. He turned back to the mirror, staring hard at his reflection.

_You can do this_, he told himself. _You're just going home. It's not that bad. You have nothing to worry about. Everything is going to be fine._

He nodded to himself after his little pep talk, picking up the underwear and sweatpants from the counter. He quickly discarded the hospital-issued pyjama bottoms in favour of his own clothes. Then he brushed his teeth and ran his fingers through his hair. He gathered his belongings before opening the door and shuffling out into the hospital room. He shuffled slowly across the floor once more, laying the hospital gown and pants on the bed before handing Lindsay his small bag of toiletries to be stowed away in the suitcase. He looked over at the wheelchair sitting by the door of the room, making a disgusted face at the implication that he needed it to leave the hospital.

"It's hospital policy, Danny," Lindsay said, resting her hand on his arm. "We all know you don't really need it, but…" her sentence trailed off and she shrugged her shoulders.

"Just as long as they're not sending the stupid thing home with me," he mumbled. He glared at the wheelchair, having thought that he'd left that chapter of his life behind him permanently after being shot in the back and spending six months learning how to walk again.

"It's a liability thing, Danno," Flack explained as he grabbed the handle on the wheeled suitcase and headed out the door. "You just have to let them wheel you to the front door. But once you're outside, you're free to run and skip and jump – whatever you want."

"I don't skip, jackass," Danny said to Flack's retreating back as he lowered himself into the chair.

"All ready?" Nora asked, as she appeared in the doorway.

"Yup," Lindsay said cheerfully. She smiled at Danny as Nora stepped behind his chair, firmly grasping the handles as she pushed him out into the hall. As they passed the nurse's station, he heard a chorus of goodbyes and good lucks from the staff. Danny waved back at them, calling out his thanks. He looked up at Lindsay who was smiling down at him with tears in her eyes. He reached out and took her hand in his.

Flack was waiting in the elevator, holding his hand over the sensor in the door so that it would stay open. Once they were inside, the elevator doors sliding closed behind them, Lindsay gave Danny's hand a little squeeze. He looked up at her and grinned. With a quiet chime, the doors opened on the ground floor and Nora pushed Danny across the main lobby and through the front doors. Once out in the fresh air, she stopped, locking the breaks before stepping back and giving Danny a wide smile.

"Sorry, ride's over," she said. "You have to do the rest on your own steam."

"Gladly," Danny said as he stood, stiffly walking over to the car waiting for him in the hospital's pick-up zone. He turned to smile at Nora before getting into the car. "I guess I'll be seeing you again," he said, nodding his head in the direction of Flack who was loading his suitcase into the trunk.

"I guess so," she said, winking at him. "You can't get rid of me that easily."

"Thanks for everything, Nora," Lindsay said, pulling the nurse into a quick embrace. "You've been so wonderful. Thank you."

"My pleasure," she said as she gave them both a smile. She waved at Flack before unlocking the breaks on the chair and pushing it back through the hospital doors, quickly disappearing from view.

Lindsay helped Danny get seated in the backseat of the car before she scooted around to the other door, slipping in beside him. Flack got settled in the front seat, turning the key in the ignition. "We ready?" he asked, looking at them in the rearview mirror.

After doing up her seatbelt, Lindsay took Danny's hand in hers, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Home?" she asked.

"Home," he replied.

**

* * *

**

Danny's heading home. Yay! :D

**But he's got a lot of baggage. Boo :(**

**And Flack's got a girlfriend. Yay! :D**

**But Danny's having self-esteem issues. Boo :(**

**So, comments? ****Anyone? I would love to hear your thoughts on this one, as always! :) **


	26. Chapter 26

**A/N: Thanks everybody for reading and sticking with me so far! I was happy to see from your reviews that the general consensus was... YAY! DANNY'S GOING HOME!**

**Well, now that he's home, what's going to happen? Is it all going to be sunshine and daisies? If you said yes, you obviously don't know me very well. Of course, I can't resist just a wee bit more angst... but also some hard-earned fluff.**

**So, please enjoy Chapter 26...**

* * *

Danny held his breath as Flack unlocked the apartment door and it swung open in front of them. Peering past Flack and his wife, he got a glimpse of their home. He didn't know what he was expecting to see - maybe something darker, more sinister. Foreboding. But what he saw was the same welcoming home that he had walked into everyday since he and Lindsay had moved in just over two years ago. Everything looked exactly as he remembered it, exactly as it had looked the last time he had walked through the door three weeks earlier.

Taking a tentative step through the doorway, Danny was dismayed to see a pillow from their bedroom and a blanket neatly stacked on one end of the couch. He glanced over at Lindsay, wondering if she'd simply left them there after her night out on the couch, or if it was an indication that the couch had been her nightly resting place since he'd been in the hospital.

He swept his eyes over the rest of the main living area - the kitchen, dining room and hallway were the same. All looking comfortable and lived-in and completely non-threatening. So why did he feel so apprehensive? Why was his heart beating so loudly in his chest?

He felt a gentle hand on his arm and he turned to see Lindsay staring up at him, a concerned expression on her face.

"Danny? You okay?"

He gave her what he hoped was a reassuring smile, nodding his head.

"Yeah. Yeah, it just feels weird to be back," he said. She smiled up at him before reaching up and helping him out of his jacket. Although he gave no indication, he hadn't missed the slightly worried look that passed between Lindsay and Flack. He shrugged both the look and the jacket from his shoulders as he toed off his shoes and stepped further into the apartment. He sat down in the armchair that had been his bed the last night he had spent in their home, listening as Flack and Lindsay exchanged farewells in hushed tones.

"You sure you're both gonna be alright?" Flack asked.

"We'll be fine, Don," Lindsay replied, taking the wheeled suitcase from him and setting it aside before reaching out and embracing him tightly. "Go home, get some rest. You deserve it."

Flack withdrew from the embrace, smiling over at Danny before turning his attention back to Lindsay.

"You need anything - either of you - you call me, alright? Anytime."

"We will," Lindsay said. "And thank you. For everything."

Flack waved off her thanks with a modest wave of his hand.

"It was nothing, Lindsay. You know that," he replied. "You take care of him, alright? I've got Yankees tickets for next week, and I need him to be back to his old, troublemaking self if he's gonna be my wingman."

"You got it," Lindsay said. "Bye, Don."

"Bye, Linds. See ya, Danno!" he called out as he stepped into the hallway. Danny looked up and gave Flack a tired smile from his place in the armchair, raising his hand in farewell as Flack closed the door behind himself.

Once she had ensured that the deadbolt was set and the security chain in place, Lindsay let out a sigh, turning toward Danny and smiling as she crossed the room to stand by his side. She ran her hands through his hair and he closed his eyes at the sensation of her fingers gently grazing his scalp.

"Welcome home, baby," she whispered as she leaned down and kissed his cheek. He opened his eyes and looked up at her as she continued to stroke his hair.

"Thanks, sweetie," he said.

"So, what do you want to do?" she asked as she settled herself on the arm of the chair, one arm around his shoulders and she rested her cheek on the top of his head.

"I think I want a shower," he said. "I need to get the feel and the smell of the hospital off me."

"Oh, Danny," she said, shaking her head, "I read the instructions Dr. Howard gave me for your bandages. You can't get them wet, honey." Danny let out a disgruntled huff, closing his eyes and leaning his head against the back of the chair. "Maybe... I could run you a bath? Would that be alright?"

He nodded his head, opening his eyes and looking up at his wife. "I guess it will have to do," he said. "Thanks, Linds."

She pressed a kiss to his forehead before standing and heading off in the direction of the bathroom.

"I spoke to your mom this morning, and she said that she and your dad would bring Lucy home later this afternoon," she called over her shoulder as she entered the bathroom. "She said she and Lucy were going to do some cooking, so I'm crossing my fingers for lasagne. That sound good to you?"

"Sounds great," Danny replied.

"So we should have time to rest this afternoon, maybe take a nap or something before they get here."

"Okay," Danny said. His mood improved drastically at the thought of being at home once again with his daughter. He wanted to see his parents again too. They had been to see him in the hospital a few times, but he knew that his mother especially had a hard time seeing him like that, especially after their experience with Louie.

He sighed, not wanting to dwell on the memories of watching his brother slowly waste away in the hospital. He wanted to get cleaned up and have a rest before his family came over. He didn't want to be tired and miss out on spending any more time with Lindsay and Lucy. Heaving himself up out of the armchair, he moved into the kitchen to get himself a bottle of water to take with him into the bathroom. As he opened the fridge door, his eyes fell upon the telephone and his heart suddenly began to thud loudly in his chest as his short phone conversation with Shorewood echoed in his head.

_I don't know who the hell you think you are, but I swear that if you don't cut this crap out, I will find you. I'm not a fan of your prank calls, so knock it off, or I you'll regret it. You got that?_

_Oh, I got it, Messer. See you soon._

He didn't know how long he had been standing there, paralyzed by fear. Shorewood's taunting words repeated themselves over and over again in his mind, and with each reprise, his anxiety increased. His hand ached from the tight grip he hand on the handle of the fridge door, and it was only Lindsay's gentle touch and her soft words that finally snapped him out of his stupor.

"Danny? Danny? Baby, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

* * *

Danny had seemed to be returning to his old self when he had been packing up, getting ready for the journey home. But when she had walked in on him in the bathroom as he was getting changed, she had noticed a subtle shift. The bright excitement in his eyes at the prospect of coming home had faded and he seemed almost hesitant. His comment about prettying himself up for her had taken her aback. She had raked her eyes over him, his body language screaming at her that he was unsure of himself, of his appearance, of his appeal to her.

She was only too familiar with the whole scenario, their roles having been reversed only two short years ago. After Lucy had been born, she had been so self-conscious of her body, convinced that Danny would lose interest in her. When she looked in the mirror all she saw were stretch marks, a jiggly tummy, and unsightly fat. But Danny hadn't hesitated to reassure her that he loved her and that in his eyes, she was the most beautiful woman in the world. It was only fair that she let him know that she felt the same way. Despite every negative thing that he saw in the mirror, she still saw the same Danny looking back at her, the same man who had attracted her attention all those years ago at the zoo.

She told him how she felt, how she still saw the beauty in him, and she hoped that it was enough, although she could still see the hesitation on his face as she had stepped out of the bathroom to give him his privacy.

She had seen the look of disgust on his face at the prospect of being wheeled out of the hospital in the wheelchair. She had expected him to raise more of a stink, but he had quickly acquiesced and lowered himself in the chair, letting Nora push him down to the front doors.

On the car ride home, he had been unusually quiet. When either she or Flack had tried to engage him in conversation, it had been clear that his thoughts were elsewhere. As they got closer and closer to their apartment building, Danny's grip on her hand had become steadily tighter, and at one point she could have sworn she felt him shaking. But if he was feeling any anxiety or fear about coming home, he had not let it manifest itself on his face, which remained impassive and neutral.

His mask had slipped momentarily as he had stepped into the apartment, and both she and Flack had seen his eyes widen, heard his breath quicken and once again his grip on her hand had become almost uncomfortably tight. She knew from talking with both Dr. Howard and with Danny himself that he was still experiencing moments of panic. Dr. Howard had taken her aside as he handed her the information on Danny's medication and on changing his dressings. He had advised her to prepare herself for some strong emotional reactions from Danny once he got home, and had given her the phone number of a trusted colleague in case she needed emergency assistance should there be an episode that she felt she couldn't deal with on her own.

At the time, she had brushed it aside as the doctor being overly cautious. But after drawing a bath for Danny, she had waited in the bathroom for him for almost five minutes. When he hadn't appeared, she thought he may have fallen asleep in the arm chair, but upon entering the living room, she found the chair abandoned. She called out his name, and her heart began to beat wildly in her chest when he didn't answer.

She let out a sigh of relief as she saw a faint light coming from the kitchen. Danny must have been getting a drink or something to eat and... and what? It was a small apartment, the kitchen not far from the living room, so why wasn't he answering her? She rushed around the corner and into the kitchen to find Danny standing stock-still, his body rigid, the light from the open refrigerator door reflecting up on his face and highlighting his features - he looked terrified. She followed his gaze and saw that he was staring at the phone, his eyes wide and unblinking, his breathing quick and shallow.

She reached out a tentative hand, placing it on his arm and repeating his name in a soft, reassuring voice. It took a moment, but finally he seemed to snap out of it, blinking his eyes before his body finally relaxed and he turned to face her. She rubbed his arm gently, prying his fingers from the door of the fridge with one hand, with the other she gently cupped his face.

"Danny? Danny? Baby, what's wrong? What's the matter?"

He continued to stare at her - or, more accurately, through her - for a moment before she saw that her presence in front of him had finally registered in his brain. He shook his head, his eyes searching hers, searching for answers.

"Baby? Please, talk to me. What's wrong?"

"I... I just wanted a drink of water," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "And I was fine when I came in the kitchen. But suddenly, I could hear his voice, and it was like I was reliving the whole thing again, and he was taunting me, telling me that if I had only acted differently..."

"Dan..."

"I shouldn't have talked to him like that," Danny said, shaking his head remorsefully. "I shouldn't have egged him on. He... maybe he..."

"Shh, Danny. Shh," Lindsay said, drawing him to her and holding him tightly as he trembled in her arms. "Baby, it's not your fault, alright? He had his plan, he'd already set it in motion. Nothing you said or didn't say could have changed that."

"But..."

"No, Danny," she said, pulling back and looking up and him. "Don't do this to yourself. You couldn't have done anything differently, baby. It's not your fault." She gently stroked his cheeks with her thumbs as she soothed him, repeating over and over again that it wasn't his fault, that he hadn't done this to himself.

"I'm sorry," he said, a faint blush creeping across his cheeks. "I'm so sorry, Linds."

"Oh, Danny," she sighed. She pulled his head down so that his forehead rested on her shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for, sweetheart. It's okay. You haven't done anything wrong."

"I've put you through so much, Linds," he whispered, and she felt his tears soaking through the fabric of her shirt. "I'm... I'm trying to be strong, but I just... I'm so sorry, baby."

Lindsay's heart broke at his words. How he could possibly think that she blamed him for anything that had happened was beyond her. She steeled herself, pulling back and lifting his face so she could look him in the eyes.

"Danny, I am going to tell you something now, and I want you to listen to me, okay?" she said. She hoped that her voice wasn't shaking, that he could hear the conviction in her words. "Shorewood was a maniac. He was deranged. He had his sights set on me, and in his mind, you were the only obstacle keeping us from being together. Nothing that has happened here has been your fault, and I cannot bear to listen to your blame yourself for this. You did what any devoted husband and father would do - you stood up for yourself and your family. There is nothing wrong with that." She gently wiped a tear from his cheek with her fingertips before continuing. "Even if you had been sweet as pie to him on the phone that morning, my gut instincts tell me that it wouldn't have changed a thing."

She watched as Danny gnawed on his bottom lip as he processed her words. Finally, he nodded his head and gave her a shaky smile.

"Thank you, Linds," he said quietly as he stepped into her embrace, resting his forehead on her shoulder once again. She felt his warm breath on her neck as he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't tell you how much it means to me to hear you say that. And I promise to try my best, but I can't... I can't guarantee that I won't have my moments of weakness. Moments when I really need you to talk me down."

She responded by pressing a soft kiss to his shoulder and rubbing his back in a gentle, soothing motion.

"When you need me, I'll be right here," she said. "I'm not going anywhere. We'll get through this, honey. I promise."

She felt rather than heard Danny sigh into her shoulder before he straightened himself up, gazing down at her. He was biting his lip again, and Lindsay waited patiently, sensing that there was something he needed to get off his chest.

"Dr. Howard..." he started, shifting his gaze to stare at his feet, "He thinks that maybe... that talking to someone would help."

"And what do you think about that, honey?" Lindsay asked.

He looked up at her, his blue eyes filled with uncertainty.

"I think... I think it would help me," he said. "And us," he added, almost as an afterthought. "He... I don't know if you would want to, or you know, if you think it would be good for you to, um..."

"Danny," Lindsay said, wrapping her arms around his neck and standing on her tiptoes so that she could press a soft and loving kiss to his lips, "I want to do whatever it takes to get us through this. If that means that we talk to someone, then let's do it. What we've been through, it's not easy." She shook her head and smiled warmly up at him. "I've been through the gamut of emotions over these past few weeks. I thought I'd lost you, and I almost gave up on the idea of carrying on without you, and that is something that I need to deal with."

She swallowed the lump that was forming in her throat before continuing.

"I want to see us get better, I want to get back to where we were before... all this," she said. "I want to feel strong and confident again, and I want you to get better, to stop being afraid. And I want... I want to feel like I can be intimate with you again, Danny. I want that so badly, and I don't want to feel guilty because of it. And I think that to do that, we need some help - both of us - because I just don't know how to deal with all of this, and I'm pretty sure that you don't either."

Danny gave her a small smile before resting his forehead against hers.

"God, I love you so much, Lindsay," he whispered. "Thank you. I want... I want all of that too, baby. I'm tired of being scared all the time, and I'm tired of feeling guilty. Shorewood, he got inside my head, planted thoughts there that aren't good for me, or for us."

Lindsay looked up at Danny, concern on her face.

"What do you mean, Dan?" she asked gently.

Danny took a deep breath. He had tried to shield this part of his experience with Shorewood from her, but in the back of his mind, he knew that it wasn't fair for him to do so. He reminded himself that they had promised complete honesty with one another, and to keep this from her would be doing a disservice to his wife and his marriage.

He took Lindsay's hand in his, leading her into the dining room, pulling out one of the chairs for her to sit in before sitting down himself across the table from her. He reached out and interlaced his fingers with hers before he began to explain.

He told her about Shorewood's "treatment", about how he had told Danny over and over again that he was being punished for forcing himself on Lindsay, for taking advantage of her.

Lindsay's heart sank as she listened. She knew that Danny had been through hell, had understood from both Hawkes and Dr. Howard that he had suffered terribly from the electroshock sessions that Shorewood had administered. But she had never known that all the while, Shorewood had been planting the seed of doubt in Danny's mind, telling him that he was indeed dirty, that what he and Lindsay shared was wrong, and that he should be punished for it.

"Oh, baby," she said, squeezing his fingers gently, tears forming in her eyes. "I never knew."

She looked across the table at her husband, his eyes downcast as he stared sadly at their joined hands. She pulled her hand from his and he raised his head, fearful that he had said something to upset her. She quickly set his mind as ease as she walked around the table, closing the distance between them as she carefully sat across his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a loving kiss to his lips as she trailed her fingers through the hair at the nape of his neck.

"I knew that I shouldn't listen to him, that he was messing with me," Danny said softly. "But after a while, it gets hard to tell the truth from the lies, and when every happy memory I have of us being together is followed by the pain..." Danny broke off, shaking his head. "I started to doubt myself. Had I forced myself on you? Had I made you..."

"Danny, stop," she said before she pressed her lips against his once again. "Nothing you've ever done to me, nothing we've ever done together, has been unwanted," she whispered, her lips brushing against his as she spoke. "I know that you would never, ever, lay a finger on me if I didn't want you to. You have too much respect for me to ever do that. And besides," she said, "If you ever tried anything like that, I would have kicked your ass good and hard."

She felt relief wash through her as Danny let out a soft chuckle.

"Yeah," he conceded, "I guess I should have thought of that."

Lindsay pulled back, stroking his face, her expression serious.

"Are we okay, Dan?" she asked.

He nodded his head, giving her a small smile.

"Yeah, we're good," he said.

She smiled as she stood up, taking his hand in hers and tugging gently.

"How about that bath?" she asked.

Danny nodded his head, standing up and following Lindsay into the bathroom. She stepped forward, dipping her finger into the water, nodding in satisfaction at its temperature.

"Good, it's still warm," she said. She turned and looked expectantly at Danny, waiting for him to get undressed. She watched as he tentatively lifted the hem of his shirt, his eyes locked on hers as he revealed his battered body to her. She bit her lip, trying to hold back a gasp of shock at what she saw.

It wasn't the bruises or the bandages, or even the scars from the rash that surprised her. It was that she could see each of Danny's ribs sticking out so clearly. As he turned to drop his shirt in the laundry hamper, she saw with dismay how each ridge of his spine jutted out under his skin. He'd always been toned and lean, but she felt her eyes welling up with tears as she saw how emaciated he had become after only a few short weeks.

"Oh, Danny," she whispered, stepping forward and running her fingers over his bony back. "Honey... what... are you alright?"

She heard him swallow and looked up as he turned to face her, biting his lip as he gazed sadly down at her.

"Almost dying because of something you ate..." he shrugged his shoulders, "kinda turns you off food a bit I guess."

"Oh, sweetie," she said, wrapping her arms around him and pulling him close. "Baby, you have to eat, okay? Please just... just do it for me, alright?"

She heard Danny let out a sigh as he slipped his arms around her and rested his cheek on the top of her head.

"I promise to try, Linds," he replied.

"Maybe that's something else we should talk to someone about, Dan."

She pulled back in time to see a wry smile spread across Danny's face.

"Yeah, I'll add it to the list," he mumbled.

There would be more time to discuss the issue later, but right now, Lindsay felt that they were both quickly reaching their breaking point. They were both tired and out of sorts and still finding their footing with one another, so she simply kissed his chin and stepped back, watching as he carefully discarded the remainder of his clothes before stepping into the tub and lowering himself with a groan into the warm water.

* * *

Danny sighed as he leaned back in the tub. The water felt fantastic as it soothed away some of his aches and pains. He rested his bandaged arm on the side of the tub and made sure that the water wasn't high enough to touch the dressings on his chest before he closed his eyes and let his body relax.

He heard the faint rustle of fabric and he turned to face the sound. To his surprise, he saw Lindsay pulling off her own clothing and tossing it into the hamper.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

She turned and smiled shyly at him as she shimmied out of her panties, standing totally naked in front of him.

"I'm going to help you," she said simply. "And I don't want to get my clothes all wet. Now scoot up and make room for me."

Danny sat up and his heart began to beat faster in his chest as Lindsay stepped into the bath, lowering herself into the water behind him. Once she was settled, she placed her hands on his shoulders, gently pulling him back to lean against her chest. She then reached out to grab the little jug they kept in the bath for washing Lucy's hair, dipping it into the water and filling it up. She raised it over his head and slowly poured the water onto his hair.

He closed his eyes as she proceeded to help him wash his hair. He let out little satisfied sighs at her delicate touch. Once she was done with his hair, she gently nudged him into an upright position so that she could help him wash his back, lathering up a washcloth and softly scrubbing away at his skin. When she was done, he leaned back into her, resting his head on her shoulder. She wrapped her arms around his chest and he raised his good hand, interlacing his fingers with hers as she placed delicate kisses to the side of his face.

It wasn't sex, Danny thought to himself. But it didn't need to be. It was the most intimate moment they'd shared in a long time, and it was all that either of them was ready for right now. He smiled as he remembered Lindsay's words to him in the hall outside Mac's office just before they'd gone in to tell him Lindsay was pregnant. Baby steps. It was exactly what they'd needed at the time, and it was what they needed now. They needed to rebuild themselves, separately and together. And when they were ready, they would take the next step. But for now, Danny was quite content to stay where he was, wrapped in his wife's arms, sharing this simple, loving moment with her.

They stayed that way until the water began to get cold. Danny stood, offering Lindsay his hand to help her up. He grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around her petite figure before taking a second towel down for himself. Together they stepped out of the tub and helped one another dry off before heading into the bedroom.

Danny opened his drawer, taking out a pair of old and faded sweatpants and his favourite Yankees t-shirt, pulling them on carefully before crawling into bed. He lay down on his side, being cautious of his still-tender ribs as he extended his arm, inviting Lindsay to lay down beside him.

She hesitated for a moment, her eyes darting to the door. He could tell she was thinking about the pillow and blanket on the couch, and he knew for sure now that she had spent her nights out there while he had been away.

"If you need to, you can sleep on the couch, Linds," he said, lowering his arms, not wanting to pressure her. "But I've spent three weeks on a hospital bed, and I am sleeping here."

She looked once more at the door before she turned and smiled at him, moving quickly to the side of the bed and lifting the comforter. She settled herself beside him, her back to his front. Tentatively, he moved his hand to rest on her hip. He felt her shift slightly on the bed and for a brief moment, he thought he had gone too far. But to his immense joy, he found that she was inching herself slowly backward, pressing herself against him. He felt her small hand on his as she drew his arm around her waist.

He nuzzled his face into her hair, tightening his arm around her and smiled when she let out a small, contented sigh.

"Love you, Dan," she said quietly.

"Love you too, Linds," he replied. He felt his eyelids begin to droop, he heard Lindsay's breathing become soft and low, and soon, both were lost in a peaceful, dreamless sleep.

**

* * *

**

So? I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It was definitely a challenge to write! I had originally intended for everything to be sunshine and daisies once Danny was out of the hospital, but then I thought... nah. That's too easy. So, I hope you're not disappointed but what I've offered up here instead.

**As always, your reviews and comments are most welcome, so please don't be shy!**


	27. Chapter 27

**A/N: Hello? Anybody still with me? ****First of all, thanks to those of you who took the time to leave a review after the last chapter. Reading your reactions to Danny's homecoming just made me ridiculously happy! You are all brilliant. And also, to those of you who are reading without reviewing, thanks for coming back chapter after chapter. I hope you're enjoying the story too!**

**And now, onto the serious stuff. Ugh. I'm sorry this update has taken so long. It's been an ungodly combination of several things. First, writer's block. Then I hurt my knee and was laid up in bed hopped up on some pretty trippy painkillers for a few days (great if you want vivid dreams… not so great for the coherent thought processes required for writing… at least not any kind of writing that makes sense). So, once I was feeling back to my old self, I sat down and started writing and it was… total crap. Oh, such crap. It was so crappy, that crap was ashamed to be associated with it and changed its name to Mildred. Yes. It was that bad.**

**So, I took my own advice and worked on some other stuff for a few days, waiting for the muse to show her face again. And when she finally did, I was ready and willing to start fresh. Which I did. Two more times. Jeez. **

**So, after several drafts and rewrites, I present to you Chapter 27. We get a little more insight into what's going through Lindsay's mind, meet Danny's parents and of course, it wouldn't be a truely complete homecoming without some Danny/Lucy fluff now would it? Enjoy!**

* * *

Lindsay shifted restlessly on the bed, her mind whirling with unpleasant thoughts. Visions of Danny slowly wasting away before her eyes swam through her head and she woke with a start, her body drenched in a sheen of cold, clammy sweat. She let her eyes slowly adjust to the fading light of the bedroom, the last vestiges of the evening sun casting the room in a warm, golden glow. Lindsay shivered involuntarily, shaking off the remnants of her nightmare. She heard Danny sigh softly in his sleep and his arm tightened ever so slightly around her waist as if he knew, even as he slept, that she needed him.

She smiled to herself as she felt Danny's steady breath on her neck and she closed her eyes, snuggling back into his inviting embrace. As she gently stroked the arm that lay protectively across her stomach she allowed her thoughts to drift back to the conversation that had plagued her dreams and roused her unwillingly from her peaceful sleep.

Seeing Danny naked for the first time since David Shorewood had turned their lives upside down had been shocking. Since they'd first met, Danny had always been a shining example to her of masculine physical strength. He was strong and had no reservations about using his body to his advantage, both in his work and in his private life. On the job, he'd never shied away from sacrificing his body in the pursuit of a suspect. And at home with her, he'd always been extremely physical, using his body as a means to express his love for her long before he'd been able to form the words.

But seeing him so fragile, so vulnerable, had thrown her. She realized in that moment that she'd taken his physical strength for granted, never assuming that someone would be able to snatch that part of him away from her in the blink of an eye. So, once she had seen him settled in the tub, she had reacted instinctively, her body moving of it's own accord to shed itself of her constricting clothes.

The look of shock on his face as he'd realized what she was doing hadn't been lost on her. She knew she had surprised him with her actions. Hell, she had surprised herself. But despite her initial reservations about being intimate with him again, she'd known that what he needed most in that moment was reassurance – reassurance that she still felt a connection to him despite his physical changes. And what she'd needed most was to give herself permission to be close to him again, to feel his skin against hers.

She'd held onto him for dear life in the bath, clinging to his body until the chill of the water became too much and they moved back to the bedroom. As she watched Danny crawl into their bed - the bed they had shared for so long; the bed she hadn't been able to bring herself to sleep in without him – she'd felt her heart leap up into her throat. She knew he would ask her to sleep with him and she dreaded having to turn him down, having to admit to him that she couldn't do it. That she was too weak.

But he hadn't asked her. He hadn't demanded. He'd simply told her where he would be sleeping and let her make the choice on her own. And as she watched him settle himself on the bed, she'd been surprised at how easy that choice was to make. As she'd lain down beside him, she'd felt a calmness wash over her. A calmness that brought with it a sense of homecoming, renewal, and a new beginning.

She couldn't help but smile to herself, proud of the huge steps they'd taken in the few short hours since he'd come home. She knew it wasn't over, not by a long shot. They still had so much left to deal with, so many obstacles to overcome. But they had taken the all-important first steps back toward normalcy. Back to where they'd been only a few short weeks ago.

"Linds?" Danny's voice, still thick and groggy from sleep, was like music to her ears. "You okay? S'matter?"

"Nothing's the matter. I'm just thinking." She gently squeezed his arm with her fingers before turning her head and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek. "Go back to sleep, baby," she whispered against his whiskers. "I'll wake you up in time for dinner, okay?"

"Mmph."

Lindsay smiled as she felt Danny's body relax as he drifted back to sleep, his breathing soft and even in her ear. She lay there, basking in the feeling of her husband's arms around her as they cuddled together in their bed. Being careful not to wake Danny, she shifted onto her back so that she could watch him sleep. She gently traced the lines of his face with her fingers, smiling as she reacquainted herself with his familiar features.

Her touches must have tickled Danny and she giggled as he scrunched up his nose before turning and burying his face in her neck. She stroked his arm, kissing his shoulder and letting her lips linger against his skin. "I'm glad you're home, baby. I love you," she whispered into his shoulder. She had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing when Danny responded by letting out a quiet snore.

* * *

It had taken a herculean effort on her part to disentangle herself from under the comforting weight of Danny's arm, but she had needed to get up, knowing that shortly, Danny's parents would be arriving with Lucy in tow and she wanted to freshen up and get things ready for dinner.

She quickly showered and dressed, opening and closing her drawers with the utmost care so as not to disturb Danny. Before heading out into the living room to tidy up, she leaned down, sweeping his hair from his face and placing a soft kiss to his forehead. She watched him sleep for a few more minutes, fighting the rising desire within herself to climb right back into bed with him.

Once leaving the bedroom and closing the door softly behind her, she quickly set the table and began cutting up the ingredients for a salad to go along with whatever culinary delight Maria Messer would bring with her. At the thought of food, she frowned down at the vegetables on the cutting board in front of her, her mind once again sliding back to Danny's admittance of his reluctance to eat. She hoped against hope that his mother's home cooking would revive his appetite.

As she tossed the last of the veggies into the salad bowl she heard a soft knock at the door followed by the unmistakable sound of her daughter's voice out in the hallway. Wiping her hands on her jeans, she unlocked the deadbolt and unfastened the security chain before pulling open the door.

"Hey guys!" she said in greeting. She extended her arms to accept a squirming Lucy from her grandfather, Joe Messer. "Hi sweetpea!"

"Mama!" Lucy squealed as she wrapped her arms around Lindsay's neck. "Mama, yook! Yoo-see make!"

"Oh, did you make that, Lucy?" Lindsay asked, looking down at the tray of lasagna that Maria was holding in her hands. "It looks so yummy!"

"Nummy," Lucy agreed, nodding her head excitedly. Lindsay kissed her cheek before setting her down on the ground and watching her scurry off into the living room to gather her toys.

"Hi Mom," Lindsay said as she stood back to let her in-laws enter. "Hi Dad."

"Hi, Lindsay," Maria said, patting Lindsay's cheek and smiling amiably at her before wandering into the kitchen to reheat the entrée she had brought with her.

"Hiya, kiddo. How're you doing?" Joe asked as he hung up his and Maria's jackets. "You're looking good. Did you get some rest this afternoon?"

"Yeah, I did. Thanks," Lindsay replied, leaning in to kiss her father-in-law on the cheek. He smiled at her before moving into the apartment and settling himself on the couch.

"Is it okay if I turn on the game?" he asked, pointing to the remote, "Or is Dan still sleeping?"

"Oh, no. That's fine. I was just about to wake him up for dinner anyway, so go ahead."

"Thanks," Joe said. He turned on the TV, quickly finding the game he was looking for before he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on the coffee table.

After checking on Lucy, Lindsay wandered toward the kitchen to see what Maria was up to. The smell of her homemade lasagna quickly filled the apartment, making Lindsay's stomach growl loudly. She poked her head into the kitchen, offering Maria her help in getting dinner on the table.

"Oh, no," Maria replied, waving off Lindsay's offer. "I know my way around a kitchen, don't you worry. I'll get everything ready. You just go tell that son of mine to get his lazy butt out of bed."

"Thanks Mom," Lindsay said. Before she could stop herself, she stepped forward and embraced her mother-in-law tightly. "I know I've said it like a thousand times," she whispered, "But thank you so much for everything. For looking after Lucy, for putting up with me and my insanity, and for just… well, just for everything."

Patting Lindsay's back, tears glistened in Maria's warm brown eyes and a wide smile spread across her face as she pulled away from the embrace. "Don't be ridiculous," she said pinching Lindsay's cheek affectionately. "You know we love to have Lucy with us. And what's a few meals for family? _Cara mia_, it's no trouble at all."

"But I…"

"And if I may be so bold," Maria continued, talking over Lindsay's protests of thanks, "I think that you've handled yourself beautifully in a very difficult situation. Daniel is very lucky to have you. I hope you know that. And I hope he does too, or he'll have to answer to me." Smiling, Maria winked at Lindsay before turning her attention back to the tray of food in front of her.

Blushing, Lindsay quickly turned back to the living room to see if she could entice Lucy away from her toys long enough to help her wake Danny for dinner.

"Hey, Lucy," she said, crouching down next to her daughter, "You want to come help Mommy wake up…"

"Daddy!" Lucy cried, jumping to her feet and scampering across the room toward a bleary eyed Danny who had just come staggering sleepily into the living room. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his legs and burying her face in his knees, her excited chants of "Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!" muffled by the fabric of his sweatpants.

"Never mind," Lindsay said, smiling up at her husband, clearly still half-asleep as he struggled to keep his balance as their daughter bounced excitedly at his feet. "Hey, baby. You alright?"

"Mmph," he grumbled, leaning forward and resting his forehead on her shoulder as she wrapped her arms around him to steady him. "There's something small and wiggly stuck to my leg."

"Daddy! Yoo-see up!"

"Hey, Lucybear," Danny said, smiling tiredly down at his daughter. Lindsay watched him try to crouch down to pick her up. He got about halfway down before he winced, his body protesting sharply against his movements. "Sorry, Luce," he said, gritting his teeth as he straightened himself into an upright position. "Doesn't look like Daddy can pick you up just yet."

"Up! Up!" Lucy begged, wiggling her fingers up at Danny. He sighed, looking to Lindsay for help.

"You think you can hold her if I pass her to you?" she asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great," he said. "Thanks babe."

Lindsay easily bent down, scooping Lucy into her arms. She whispered a quiet reminder to be gentle in Lucy's ear before handing her over to Danny, her hand supporting some of Lucy's weight until she was sure he had a tight hold on her.

"I got her," he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips as Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, peppering his cheeks with little wet kisses. "How's my baby girl?" he asked.

"Daddy all done s'eep?" Lucy asked as she cuddled into his chest.

"Yeah, sweetie. Daddy's all done sleeping for now."

"All done sick?"

"Almost."

"P'ay Yoo-see?"

Lindsay felt herself choking up at their little girl's simple request to play with her daddy. She watched Danny closely, gauging his reaction. He buried his face in Lucy's soft blonde curls, pressing a kiss to her cheek before he answered.

"How about you and Daddy play together after dinner," he offered. "How's that sound?"

The look of sheer joy on Lucy's cherubic little face nearly broke Lindsay's heart. For weeks, the first thing she did every morning was to ask if she'd get to play with her daddy that day. And it had absolutely crushed Lindsay to have to deny her daughter that simple pleasure.

"Ree-wee?" Lucy asked Danny. She turned to Lindsay and asked again, her blue eyes wide with disbelief and delight. "Ree-wee?"

"Really, sweetie," Lindsay replied, discreetly wiping at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.

"P'ay Daddy!" Lucy exclaimed, giggling and clapping her hands in excitement. "Nona! Papa! Daddy p'ay Yoo-see!"

"I know," Maria said, smiling at her son and his little family from the door of the kitchen. "What a lucky girl you are, Lucy!"

Lucy turned and stared adoringly up at her father before burying her face in his shoulder and giggling wildly.

"I think you just made her day, sweetheart," Lindsay said, leaning in and pressing a kiss to Danny's cheek. He grinned at her, resting his cheek against Lucy's mop of curls, clearly savouring the sound of her tinkling giggle in his ears.

"Dinner's ready, everyone," Maria called out from the kitchen.

"Dan, I'll take Lucy and get her washed up," Lindsay said. "You go sit down, spend a few minutes with your folks. We'll be right out, okay?"

"Sounds good," Danny replied. "Okay, Luce? You go with Mommy to get ready for dinner."

"No. Daddy hewp."

"Sweetie, remember Daddy's sick, okay?" Lindsay reminded her daughter. "So Mommy's going to help you, and Daddy will be waiting for us at the table!"

Lucy jutted out her lower lip, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Daddy hewp."

Danny let out a sigh, giving Lindsay an apologetic smile.

"I'll just help her, honey," he said. "I don't want a tantrum to ruin our first night at home together."

"You're sure?"

"We'll be fine. It's no big deal. You gotta pick your battles, right?" Danny quipped, winking at her.

"Alright, but let me know if you need help, okay? And you," Lindsay said, poking Lucy gently in the nose with the tip of her finger, "Be good for Daddy, okay?"

"T'ay," Lucy replied, her pout now long forgotten.

Lindsay watched as Danny turned, Lucy held tightly in his arms, and headed for the bathroom to get her washed up for dinner. She sighed softly, then headed into the dining room where dinner was waiting.

* * *

"Baby, you have to hold still for Daddy, okay?" Danny said, pleading with Lucy who was currently squirming on the bathroom counter as he tried to wash her face.

"All done!" she wailed. "No more! Yoo-see all done!"

Danny let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger. He was too tired for this. He didn't want to lose his temper right now, especially as Lucy had been so excited to see him and so adamant that he be the one to help her. He decided that distraction would be his best option at this particular moment.

"So, what did you do with Nona and Papa today, sweetheart?" he asked, gently stroking Lucy's cheeks with the damp cloth.

"Yoo-see make 'zanya!"

"You made… um…" he paused, unsure of what exactly it was she had made, "Um… 'zanya? Wow. That sounds like fun."

"Nummy 'zanya," Lucy explained.

"Oh. I see. I bet it is nummy," he replied, dabbing at her chin with the cloth. "And how old are you now, Lucy?" he asked.

"Dis many," Lucy said, holding up two little fingers.

"Really? Wow. How many is that?" Danny asked, wiping off the fingers she was holding up. "One… two… two years old and two clean fingers!"

"Yay Yoo-see!" she said, clapping her hands together. "Daddy how many?"

"How many is Daddy?" Danny asked, a lopsided grin on his face. "Too many, sweetie. You don't have enough fingers for Daddy."

"Too many?" Lucy asked, cocking her head to the side. After thinking for a moment, she held up all ten fingers for him to see. "Dis many?"

Danny smiled at her before gently wiping off each of her tiny fingers with the cloth, counting out loud with her as he did so. "... nine and ten!"

"Daddy ten many?" Lucy asked.

"Close enough, Lucybear," he said, setting the washcloth back on the hook beside the sink. "Hey, guess what?"

"What, Daddy? What?" Lucy asked, her blue eyes wide with curiosity.

"We're all done!"

Lucy looked down at her fingers, now scrubbed clean, then grinned up at her father and clapped her hands.

"Ta da! Yay Daddy! All done Yoo-see!"

"Okay, baby, now let's hop down, because everyone's waiting for us."

Bracing himself, Danny scooped Lucy off the counter, grimacing at the sharp pain that shot through his ribs as she inadvertently brushed against his wounds with her leg. He steadied himself against the wall for a moment, breathing deeply. Sneaking a peek at Lucy, he was dismayed to find that she was staring up at him with trepidation written all over her face.

"Daddy ouchie?" she asked.

"Yeah, but it's almost all better, sweetie," he reassured her.

"Poor Daddy," she said, leaning in and placing a sloppy kiss on his cheek.

"Aw, thank you baby," he said, stroking her hair as he walked down the hall. "That feels much better." Entering the dining room, he smiled at his parents and Lindsay as he got Lucy settled in her chair.

"Mama! Mama! Yoo-see dis many!" Lucy explained eagerly to her mother, holding up a pair of fingers.

"Really? Wow! You're such a big girl!" Lindsay gushed, smiling at Danny as he took his seat beside her. "Honey, you okay?" she asked, noticing that he held his side, breathing deeply while willing the pain in his chest to go away. He smiled up at her, nodding his head.

"Yeah… fine," he said. "Just tired."

"Yoo-see 'zanya!" Danny looked up to see Lucy pointing excitedly at the steaming tray that Maria had just set down on the table. "'Daddy, Yoo-see 'zanya!"

Danny stared at his daughter for a moment, his mind still not quite able to process the unfamiliar word she was trying to get across to him. He turned to Lindsay, silently asking for an interpretation.

"Lasagna, babe," she whispered in his ear. "She helped your mom make the lasagna for you."

He watched as his mother peeled back the foil from the platter, revealing her world-famous lasagna. Normally, the sight and smell of his favourite dish would have his stomach growling in hunger. But now, the scent and sight of it made his stomach churn. He looked up at the face of his little girl as she eagerly waited for him to try the meal she'd helped create.

"You made lasagna for me?" he asked. Lucy nodded her head excitedly in response. "Wow… um… Mmm, my favourite!" Danny said in what he hoped as an enthusiastic voice.

"You okay, baby?" He could hear his wife's concern for him as she whispered in his ear. Clearly, she had picked up on his hesitation. The sudden realization that he was going to have to sit and eat a meal, a whole meal, under the intense scrutiny of his family was a daunting prospect to him.

"Yeah, yeah," he whispered back. "I just… uh… I don't know if…if I can..."

Lindsay gave him an encouraging smile, kissing his shoulder as she squeezed his leg reassuringly.

"Just do what you can, okay? But don't push yourself."

Danny sighed. "I don't want to hurt her feelings."

"Daniel? Here you go, _cara mio_," Maria said, as she placed a steaming hot plate of lasagna on the table in front of him. She leaned down and kissed his cheek before serving the other diners at the table.

Danny stared down at the plate in front of him. _Just do what you can_, he told himself.

"Thanks, Ma," Danny said. "And thank you too, Lucy." He grinned at her as he picked up his fork, taking a small piece of pasta and placing it in his mouth. He could feel the eyes of his wife and daughter on him as he chewed; Lucy because she was anxious for his praise for the meal, and Lindsay because she knew of his newly acquired aversion to food. Swallowing, he gave both his girls a wide smile, setting their minds at ease.

"Wow. That's delicious!" he praised his little girl, who beamed back at him. "Good job, Luce!"

"Nummy 'zanya!" Lucy giggled. Her attention was quickly drawn away as Joe set a small plate of pre-cut lasagna down in front of her. She promptly began shoveling spoonfuls of pasta in her mouth, smearing the red sauce all over her face in the process. Danny sighed as he watched his recent efforts to get her cleaned up undone so quickly.

* * *

After dinner, Lindsay had volunteered to do the dishes, letting Danny play with Lucy while also giving him some time to catch up with his parents. She was pleased that he had given dinner a chance, eating nearly half of the heaping portion Maria had served him. She sighed, knowing that he'd had to force himself, and then only because Lucy had watched his every mouthful so carefully, repeatedly asking him if he thought it was "nummy".

Finally, he'd had enough and pushed the plate away from himself, setting his fork down on the table. Maria had looked down in disappointment at the half-eaten meal on Danny's plate, and had been about to make a comment when Lindsay caught her eye, shaking her head minutely and silently willing her mother-in-law to leave it alone for the time being. Which - thankfully - she did.

As she began to wash the last of the dishes, Joe came into the kitchen to see if there was anything he could do to help.

"Oh, no. That's alright," she said. "I'm almost done in here."

"Come on, kiddo," he said, taking a dish towel from the drawer and starting to dry the mountain of dishes in the rack beside the sink. "You've had a rough few weeks, and I'm sure you're going to have a few more that may not be so easy. So, my advice to you? Take all the help you can get, when you can get it." He winked at her, and she couldn't help but smile at her father-in-law.

"Thanks," she said.

They stood side by side at the sink in companionable silence for a few minutes before Joe broke the spell with a question.

"So… how's he doing, Lindsay? Is he okay?"

She looked up at Joe, nodding thoughtfully. "He's struggling. We both are. But we're working through things one step at a time."

"Good. That's good," he said as he picked up another cup and began to wipe it with the towel. "It's just… he's always been more sensitive to stuff going on around him, always taking on other people's problems and then blaming himself when something goes wrong. I just…" he sighed, setting the cup down on the counter and turning to Lindsay. "I don't want to see him go down that road again, shutting people out when he needs them the most. You know, probably better than anyone, how self-destructive he can be. Just… I need to know you'll be there for him, even if he pushes you away. I know he can be a stubborn jack-ass at times. But he loves you, and I think if anyone has a chance at getting him through this, it's you."

With tears welling up in her eyes, Lindsay reached out and placed a reassuring hand on her father-in-law's arm.

"I'm not going anywhere, Joe," she said quietly. "We're both in this – together – for better or for worse."

"Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot. I wouldn't trust just anyone with my son, you know." He looked over his shoulder to ensure that their conversation wasn't being overheard before he turned back to Lindsay and gave her a half-hearted smile. "He'd kill me if he heard me say this, but I don't give a rat's ass if he is 33 years old - he's still my little boy. And it kills me to see him like this. I've already said goodbye to one son. I don't think that I can do it again."

Lindsay stepped forward, wrapping her arms around Joe Messer's broad chest and hugging him tightly.

"If I have any say in the matter, you won't have to. Danny's going to be fine."

* * *

Danny stood and watched his little girl as she dozed off in her crib. He rested his hand over her belly, feeling her chest rise and fall as she slept. He placed her beloved bear on the mattress beside her, smiling as he foresaw her glee the next morning upon finding Tee-Bah next to her, finally returned to his rightful owner after keeping Danny company in the hospital.

"Night sweetheart," he said, pressing a kiss to his fingertip before gently touching his finger to the tip of her nose.

Closing the door quietly behind him, he walked down the hallway and entered the living room just in time to see his parents pulling on their coats as they got ready to leave. He smiled as his mother held out her arms to him, and he stepped quickly into her embrace.

"Oh, my Daniel," she whispered in his ear. "My little Daniel. I'm so glad you're home, _mio bambino_."

"Thanks, Ma," he said, swallowing the lump that was forming in his throat. "It's good to be home."

She leaned back, smiling broadly as she pinched his cheeks. "I love you, Daniel," she said. "Now you be good to your wife and do what she says, okay? She's a smart woman, so you listen to her."

"Yes, Ma," Danny said as he kissed his mother on the cheek. "I love you too."

"Take care of yourself, son," Joe said, pulling Danny in for a quick hug and patting him on the back before turning away, coughing and muttering under his breath about having something caught in his throat.

"Bye Dad," Danny said, waving to his parents as the door closed behind them.

After making sure the deadbolt was thrown and the security chain was in place, he leaned his forehead against the door letting his exhaustion finally rear its ugly head. He loved his parents, but it felt good to be back in his own home with no one but his wife and daughter around. After spending so much time in the hospital, with the constant hustle and bustle out in the hall, he had longed for the relative quiet of his apartment. For the privacy and serenity that the hospital just didn't offer.

Lost in his thoughts, he almost missed the pair of hands that slid slowly around his waist from behind. He smiled at the sound of his wife's soft voice in his ear.

"How're you doing, baby?"

Danny turned, leaning back against the door as he pulled Lindsay close, wrapping his arms around her.

"I'm tired," he whispered into her hair. "I'm tired and I'm sore. But I'm happy to be home."

"Well, that's something," she said, tilting her head back and smiling up at him.

"Know what would make me even happier?" he asked, wiggling his eyebrows at her.

"What?"

"Bed."

"Bed? Danny…"

"No, Linds. Just bed. Nothing more. Just you, me and a couple of z's."

He grinned as she closed her eyes, smiling contentedly as she snuggled into his chest.

"Then I'd say that sounds like a great idea."

**

* * *

**

*Sigh* Alright. Let me have it.

**What did you really think? Too disjointed? Hard to follow? Confusing? All of the above? **

**I blame the painkillers. ;)**


	28. Chapter 28

**A/N: And… I'm back! Thank you all for your patience over the past few weeks. I know I haven't been updating as often as I have in the past, but your continued support of myself and this story keeps spurring me on. Cheers, guys!**

**So, just a little note on this chapter. *Sigh* Me and the muse, well, we had a little argument about this one. See, initially I wanted to draw out the angst a bit more, make this chapter a little darker, a little more dramatic. But the muse insisted that it should be lighter. Not quite fluffy, but definitely not so angsty. **

**I'm ashamed to admit it, but there were raised voices, some name calling, maybe a few temper tantrums, and possibly even some hair pulling. But fear not… we've sorted out our differences, we're friends again, and this chapter is finally complete. I'll let you decide which of us got her way once you've finished reading. ;)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"Hey, Linds!"

Lindsay looked up from the mound of paperwork on her desk to see Stella standing in her doorway.

"Hey, Stella," she replied, smiling back at her friend.

"What are you doing here?" Stella asked, crossing the room and taking a seat in Danny's chair. "I thought you were off until next week."

"Yeah, I was," Lindsay said. "But Mac called me this morning and asked if I would mind coming in for a few hours over the next few days, just to help catch up on all the backed-up paperwork." She gestured to the sea of files that littered every available surface in the office. "And I figured it was the least I could do… I mean, you guys have been working so much overtime while Danny and I have been off…"

"Linds, nobody minds," Stella said. "We all understand. What you two have been through… it's not as if it's something you can just snap out of, and suddenly it's all better overnight."

"I know, Stell," Lindsay sighed, "But I just feel bad… I'm sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs while you guys are here busting your butts, covering for me and Danny while looking after your own casework as well."

"Well, we're not doing all the work you guys would normally do," Stella replied. "I mean, we've got those two rookies on loan from the New Jersey lab that are helping out."

Lindsay chuckled, shaking her head. She'd heard all about the rookies from Flack; how slow they were, how they needed constant supervision to complete even the simplest of tasks.

"Yeah, Flack mentioned there were some new recruits in the lab," she said. "He was over the other night, complaining about having been on babysitting duty all day." She let out a sigh. "Look, Mac won't let me back out in the field until Danny's given the all-clear from the doctor. He doesn't want to put me in a situation where I'd have to leave a scene if there's an emergency at home and Danny needs me…"

"But, Lindsay…"

"Stella, I want to help, okay? It's only for a few hours, and then I promise to go home and take it easy, alright?"

Sensing that this was an argument she wasn't going to win, Stella decided that a change of subject was in order.

"So, how is Danny doing these days?" she asked. "Is he feeling any better?"

Stella was pleased to see Lindsay smile at the mention of her husband.

"He's doing really well," she said. "He's got his three-week check up with his surgeon on Friday, and he's really hoping that he'll be able to get the cast taken off his wrist."

"That's great!" Stella said. "And what about his chest?"

"Much better," Lindsay replied, nodding her head. "Yeah, his lungs are healing really well, he's able to move around a lot more and he can finally get down on the floor to play with Lucy again."

"I'm sure Lucy's thrilled about that," Stella smiled, picturing the little girl giggling with glee as she rolled around on the floor with her daddy.

"Oh, my God. You have no idea," Lindsay said, rolling her eyes playfully. "Yeah, I heard about it all afternoon while Danny was having a nap."

"Aw, that's so sweet." Stella smiled at Lindsay, reaching out and rubbing her arm. "And what about you? How are you doing, Linds?"

"Me?" Lindsay asked, waving off Stella's question. "Oh, I'm fine."

Stella raised her eyebrows at her friend. "Oh, really?" she asked. "So… after everything that happened, you're just suddenly fine?" She shook her head. "Wow. That's impressive. What's your secret?"

Lindsay smiled wryly at Stella. "Denial."

"Ah. And how's that working out for you?"

"Not so good." Stella felt a wave of sympathy wash over her as Lindsay struggled to keep a lid on the emotions that were bubbling just under the surface. "It's just… it's really hard, Stell," she said, wiping at her eyes. "When I thought I was going to lose him… I've never been so scared in my entire life."

"I know, Linds. I know."

"Danny's surgeon recommended that we talk to a therapist, which we've done. And she's been really helpful," Lindsay said. "But it's all so fresh in my mind, Stella. And I know that Dr. Jameson is only trying to help, but it still hurts so much to talk about it, you know?"

"Oh, kiddo, I know," Stella replied, giving Lindsay's arm a supportive little squeeze.

Lindsay took a Kleenex from the box on her desk, dabbing at her eyes and blowing her nose. "Anyways, we're getting there, Stell. Dr. Howard said it wasn't going to be easy – and it definitely hasn't been – but if it means that we get our lives back, that we can get back to where we were before all this, then it's worth it."

"I'm glad to hear it, Lindsay," Stella said, smiling at her friend. "Now, I'd better let you get back to work, or Mac will skin me alive. He's only got you for a few hours a day, so I'm sure he wants to make the most of your time."

"Yeah," Lindsay said, sighing as she looked down at the files in front of her. "I guess you're right."

"Okay, then. I'll talk to you later, alright?" Stella said as she stood. "And you let me know if you guys need anything, got it?"

"Got it. Thanks Stella."

"No problem, Linds," Stella said, winking at Lindsay before she turned and walked out into the hall, leaving Lindsay alone to plough through her paperwork.

* * *

"Danno, you're breaking my heart over here… ruining a perfectly good piece of pizza like that."

He had been watching Danny slowly pick apart a slice of Ray's Famous New York Pizza for the past ten minutes. When he had dropped in at the Messer's the night before, Lindsay had pulled him aside while Danny was putting Lucy to bed, voicing her worries about Danny's lack of appetite. Seeing her so upset, he had promised that the next day he would try his best to get Danny to snap out of it, get him to sit down and actually eat a real meal. On the drive home, he'd thought hard about what he could do to help, and he'd suddenly found himself at a stoplight in front of Ray's. He smiled, knowing that Danny had a soft spot for the place, and hoping that his friend wouldn't be able to resist.

"You know, this whole eating thing?" he asked as Danny toyed with a piece of pepperoni. "Yeah, works better if you actually put the food in your mouth."

Danny dropped the pepperoni back on the plate, pushing it away from him as he glanced up at Flack. "You've been talking to Lindsay, haven't you?"

Flack sighed, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the white Formica table. "She's worried about you, Dan," he said. "Says you're not eating… still." He watched Danny closely. It was the _'still'_ part of that sentence that bothered him. He felt bad, having been completely oblivious over the past few weeks about this particular bump in Danny's road to recovery. "Come on, Danny. Talk to me. What's up with the food?"

Danny leaned back in his seat, reaching out his hand to slowly turn his plate around on the table in front of him. He stared at the pizza for a moment before looking up and meeting Flack's gaze.

"You know, I see this pizza here, and do you know what I'm thinking?"

Flack shook his head. "No. What are you thinking, Danny?"

"Fuck that looks good. And it smells good. And I'm so fucking hungry I could probably eat ten slices right about now."

"But?"

"But… when I pick it up, hold it like I'm actually going to eat it…" he shrugged his shoulders, "… suddenly, I can't breathe. I just panic. I get cold sweats, my hands start to shake. And suddenly, I'm not so hungry anymore."

"Danny… you can't not eat, man. You're gonna do some serious damage to yourself, alright?"

"Yeah, I know, Flack." Danny replied irritably. "You think this is what I want? Or that this is the first time I've had this conversation? I've heard it from the doctor, from the therapist, from my mother, and from Linds," he said, ticking off each person on his fingers. "Believe me - I know. My mom has sent over everything under the sun to try to get me to eat… and Linds has even resorted to having Lucy make stuff for me, trying to guilt me into eating." He glared at the slice of pizza in front of him before looking up at Flack once more. "You don't think that I'm fucking starving right now? I mean… you try living on those girly little meal replacement drinks. They suck. Fucking disgusting shit. But I just… I can't."

"Can you try? Please?" Flack asked. "I mean, come on, Danny. You've been sitting here for ten minutes with a slice of Ray's finest in front of you. How can you say no?" He watched Danny cross his arms in front of his chest, giving Flack a look that said he was about ten seconds away from losing his patience completely. "Alright, alright," Flack said, holding up his hands in surrender. "You win. You don't gotta eat it. But think about it, Dan. Look at what you're turning down; just look at this magnificent specimen," he said, gesturing to the pizza. "I mean, Ray's probably rolling over in his grave right now…"

"Oh, fuck off, you prick," Danny said, trying hard to keep the smile off his face. "Ray is right over there." He pointed to the short, round little man behind the counter, who waved a greeting at two of his favourite customers. "And that, by the way, is a new low for you; using poor Ray as a pawn in your little guilt trip."

"Well, you know what they say about desperate times, Dan," Flack said, shrugging his shoulders. "Can't blame a guy for trying."

"Uh, actually… yes I can," Danny said, rolling his eyes as he pushed himself up from the booth, leaving his untouched pizza on the paper plate. Flack sighed as he watched Danny head to the door. As he stood to join him, he grabbed the plate from the table, thinking that Danny might be tempted to try it at home later, when he was without an audience.

* * *

Lindsay looked up from her paperwork when she heard a familiar voice out in the hall.

"Hey! Wow, it's good to see you up and around, man!"

"Thanks, Adam. It's good to _be_ up and around."

Lindsay watched through the glass walls of her office as Adam patted Danny on the back and the two of them stood talking.

"What're you doing here?" Adam asked.

"Flack kidnapped me this morning, took me out for lunch," Danny replied. "Then the jackass got called to a scene, so I asked him to drop me here so I could get a ride home with Linds when she's done for the day."

"Nice. Um… well, I gotta get this stuff to trace, but, um… I'm really glad you're doing better, Danny," Adam said. "Come find me if you get bored… I've got a new gadget to show you… it's totally epic. You're gonna love it!"

"Yeah, I will, Adam," Danny replied as Adam scurried down the hall, waving at Danny over his shoulder as he went. Danny had to bite his lip to stop himself from laughing as Adam crashed into another lab tech, mumbling his apologies as he fumbled with the envelopes of evidence in his hands.

Once Adam was out of sight, Danny turned and smiled at his wife as he pulled open the door to their office.

"Hey, baby," he said, crossing the room and planting a soft kiss to the top of her head.

"Hey! This is a nice surprise. I didn't expect to see you here," she said. She put down her pen and stretched, deciding that now was as good a time as any for a little break. "How was lunch?"

"It was alright."

Lindsay could tell by his tone that he didn't want to talk about it, so she resigned herself to drop it the topic for now. She smiled at him as she closed the open file on her desk. She was about to ask Danny if he wanted to come with her to the break room for some coffee, but the question died on her lips when Danny begn to speak, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Why'd you have to tell Flack?" he asked. She watched as he reached out and fiddled with a pad of sticky notes on his desk. "You don't think I have enough people on my case?"

"Danny…"

"I appreciate the concern, babe. I really do. But enough is enough, alright?" He sat up, reaching out and taking her hand in his, his fingers gently caressing the back of her hand. "I'm not doing this to hurt you, or make you worried or sad… although I know it's probably doing all those things." He raised her hand to his lips, pressing a soft kiss to her fingers. "I'm trying, baby. I really am."

"I know you are, Danny," she said, giving his fingers a little squeeze. "And I'm sorry if I'm making you feel pressured to do something you're not ready to do. But I can't help it. I love you, and that makes it my job to worry about you."

Danny gave her a half-hearted smile before interlacing his fingers with hers.

"So, I've been thinking," she said. "Maybe we have to think outside the box for different ways to tempt you."

"Oh, yeah?" Danny asked, raising his eyebrows. "Like what?"

"Well, I was thinking that maybe you need a little inspiration. A little creativity. Maybe we should try something different... like eating off something other than a plate."

"I am _not_ going to eat off the floor, Lindsay," Danny deadpanned, chuckling as she lightly smacked his shoulder. "Kidding! I'm just kidding," he said. "Whatcha got in mind, babe?"

She fidgeted in her seat, giving him a shy smile. "Well… what about me?"

Danny furrowed his brow, confusion written all over his face. "What about you?" he asked. "You got problems eating too?" He grinned at her as he reached out to squeeze her non-existent love handles.

She giggled as he tickled her sides. "Danny! Stop," she panted. "I'm trying to be serious here!"

He pulled his hands away, a mischievous little smirk on his face as he looked over at his beautiful wife, her cheeks flushed a rosy pink from her laughter. "Sorry, sweetheart. I just couldn't resist," he said. "What were you saying?"

"Well," she began, "I talked about it with Dr. Jameson, and she suggested that we might try something that would help us both out… with our problems." She sighed as Danny gave her an apologetic little smile, still clearly in the dark about what she was hinting at. "You want to eat, right?" she asked.

Danny nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah. Yeah, I do."

"Okay, and I… well, I just want you."

"Linds…"

"No, hear me out, Danny," she said, pressing her finger to his lips. "I want you, Danny. I want you to touch me, to make love to me, I do… but there's something holding me back… some fear of what will happen if I let myself have what I want. And I think you're having the same problem with food." She moved her finger from his lips, gently stroking his cheek. "The other day Stella was telling me about an old case you two worked together. She said that you checked out a restaurant where people ate sushi right off of women's bodies. And, well, that got me thinking. Maybe we need to stop trying to solve our problems on our own. Maybe we need to work together, help one another."

"Honey, I can't ask you to do that for me," Danny whispered.

"You're not asking, Dan," she replied, smiling at him as she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I'm telling you that this is what I want. I'm offering to help you, and to let you help me."

"You scratch my back, I scratch yours?" Danny asked, a lopsided smile on his face.

"Something like that," she giggled. "What do you say, baby? You wanna give it a try?"

She gasped as Danny leaned forward, capturing her lips in a slow, sensual kiss. He felt her fingers slide up into his hair and she gently ran her nails along his scalp, sending shivers down his spine. He wanted to deepen their kiss, to explore her mouth with his tongue, but he realized that a glass-walled office in the middle of a busy lab was probably not the best place to get caught making out with his wife.

With a soft sigh he pulled away, licking his lips and savouring the faint taste of her lip gloss on his tongue. He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose before he pinched her chin affectionately between his thumb and forefinger.

"So… basically you're telling me that if I eat all my veggies, I get to have my dessert?"

She wiggled her eyebrows at him. "Well… it works with Lucy. And you're basically a two-year old stuck in a 33 year old's body, so…"

"You know, I would be offended by that if it wasn't completely true."

She grinned at him before she pulled away, turning back to her desk. She let her eyes drift over the stacks of files. She looked over at Danny, giving him a hopeful smile and nodding her head down to her mounds of paperwork. He shook his head in mock exasperation.

"You are such a slacker," he said, grabbing a folder from her desk and a pen from his drawer. "You lure me in, promising me sex, and then _boom_. I find myself roped into doing all of your work for you."

"Thank you, honey," she giggled.

"Yeah, yeah. Remind me why I put up with you?"

"Because you're madly in love with me? Because I'm the mother of your child? Because you know that the faster we get through these papers, the faster we can get home and get started on your dinner?"

"Oh yeah," Danny said, nodding his head. "Yeah, all good points, babe."

She smiled as she turned her attention back to the file in her hands, her insides twisting with anticipation for what was to come when they got home. She bit her lip, peeking up through her lashes at Danny who was deeply engrossed in his file. He must have felt her eyes on him because he looked up, winking at her before burying his nose back in the file. "Slacker," he mumbled under his breath, grinning as she kicked him under the desk.

She focused her attention back on her file, a tiny smile on her lips as she felt Danny's foot gently caressing her own. It had been a long time since she'd played footsies with her husband, but it felt good. It felt innocent, playful, and sweet. She sighed in contentment as she realized that it was exactly what they both needed right now.

**

* * *

**

Okay, so… as you can probably tell, I was not the winner of the great angst vs. fluff debate. What's that old saying? If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. ;)

**I hope you enjoyed, and that you are as excited as I am about the next chapter!**


	29. Chapter 29

**A/N: ****Holy crap. Holy freaking crap people! (Whoops, or should I say Mildred. LOL). Have you taken a look at the review counter? Have you? HAVE YOU? Over 300 reviews for this story… it's just absolutely freaking mind-blowing. It really is. Wow. Thank you all so much! You continue to surprise and delight me by coming back, chapter after chapter, and your loyalty to this story is just astounding. THANK YOU! (You can't see me, but I'm giving you all a huge round of applause right now!) ;)**

**Now, back to your regularly scheduled Author's Note… ahem…**

**Well, will you just look at this? Me… updating after less than a week? Can it be true? LOL. Yes, yes. It's true! I kind of got the sense after the last update that you all were just a teensy weensy bit anxious to see if I would deliver on the little hint I dropped at the end of the last chapter. Well, I'll just shut up now and let you get on with your reading, crossing my fingers and hoping that you're not disappointed!**

**As always, enjoy!**

**** Warning: Ye be warned...There be smut ahead ;) **

**(Yeah, so I don't actually know why I felt the need to say that like a pirate... let's just call it a whim, shall we? LOL. Also, it's closing in on 4am and I'm slightly delirious and just a wee bit giddy, so please. Just humour me!)**

* * *

"Hey, Lindsay. Do you have the file for the Morton case?" Mac asked. "Sid needs to check his notes on the autopsy."

He listened to the sound of Lindsay shuffling papers on the other end of the line, smiling as she muttered quietly to herself.

"Yup. Got it right here, Mac," she said. "You want me to bring it down to you?"

"No, that's fine," he replied. "I'm just on my way back up from the morgue. I'll drop by and pick it up."

"Okay. See you soon."

Mac pressed the button to end the call, slipping his phone back into his pocket. He flipped through the case file in his hands, looking up briefly as the elevator doors opened onto the 35th floor. He stepped out into the hall, his attention focused once again on the documents in his hands as he made his way down to Lindsay's office. His nose still buried in the file, he absently reached out and pushed open the door.

"Hey, Mac. It's all here," Lindsay said in greeting.

He looked up, smiling as Lindsay held out the file for him. "Thanks, Lindsay," he said. "What would we do without you?" She returned his smile before turning back to the rapidly shrinking stack of files on her desk. He was about to head back down to his office when he noticed another person in the room. "Danny!" he said. "Sorry, I didn't see you there. How are you?"

"Not bad, boss," Danny replied. "How about you?"

"Well, I'm better now that I see you're up and around again." Mac moved back into the room, smiling and patting Danny on the back. "Hey now, what's all this?" he asked, indicating the stack of case files that Danny had been diligently working on. "I thought you were supposed to be on medical leave."

"Yeah, well…" Danny replied sheepishly. "I just swung by to catch a ride home, and Linds gave me her very best puppy dog eyes." He smiled affectionately at his wife. "And, well... I just can't seem to say no to her."

"Well, as much as I appreciate your help, Danny," Mac said, "if H.R. finds out we put you to work while you were still supposed to be off, it's my ass in the frying pan. So, finish the file you're working on and get out of here." He glared sternly down at Danny before nodding his head in Lindsay's direction. "And take your wife with you. I'm sick of seeing her here – she works too hard."

Danny's face broke out in a wide smile and he nodded his head, giving Mac a casual salute. "Yeah, will do, boss."

"Alright. It's good to see you, Danny," Mac said, pulling open the office door and stepping out into the hallway. "And Lindsay, thanks for coming in today. You have no idea how much I appreciate it."

"It's no problem, Mac," she said. "I'm happy to do it. Gives me a few hours of peace and quiet."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Danny asked. "Are you trying to imply that I'm loud?"

"You? Loud? Never," Lindsay retorted, sharing a conspiratorial wink with her boss.

Mac smiled at the pair as they bickered good-naturedly with one another, glad to see that they had regained some of the spark that made them so good together. He took his leave, their voices fading away as he walked down the hall toward his own office.

* * *

Lindsay hummed quietly to herself as she chopped vegetables for the meal she and Danny were going to share, trying to keep her mind focused on the task at hand, not wanting to dwell on exactly what it was they were about to do.

She sighed as she checked the pot boiling on the stove, stirring the pasta so that it didn't stick together before turning down the heat on the burner. She turned back to the sauce she was preparing, hoping that she hadn't forgotten any of the key ingredients in Maria Messer's famous marinara sauce. She realized that pasta was messy, and possibly not the most practical food for what she had in mind, but she figured that maybe even just feeding one another, instead of actually having him eat off of her, would be something that they might both enjoy.

Aside from the pasta, she'd also gotten some strawberries which she'd dipped in chocolate, some cheese and bread, and some fresh vegetables. She had tried to find things that were not too big, that wouldn't be too hard on Danny's stomach, things that he liked, and above all, things that had absolutely no chance of ever having come in contact with a peanut. Ever. The last thing that she wanted to happen tonight was to set him back even more by causing even a mild allergic reaction, knowing that it would only serve to validate all of Danny's fears.

As she stirred the marinara sauce in the pan, she felt tears welling up in her eyes. It was so hard to watch the person she loved more than anything as he slowly wasted away. The worst part was knowing that no matter how much she pleaded or reasoned with him, no matter how much she cried or screamed at him, in the end the decision to eat was his to make.

She knew that his words from earlier that afternoon were true, that he wasn't doing this purposefully to hurt her. But that didn't change the fact that she was hurt. It hurt her deeply to see that he didn't care enough about himself to see past his fear. And it hurt to think that she and Lucy weren't reason enough for him to snap out of it.

But Lindsay knew she shouldn't judge him too harshly. The fear that he felt had nothing to do with her and everything to do with what had happened to him. She knew all too well what it was like to be almost paralyzed with fear, unable to take that last step toward what she wanted so badly. She wanted him, she knew she did. And she knew that her constant rejections of his attempts to get closer to her had hurt him too, wounding his fragile self-confidence even more.

She just wished that it could all be over, that they would wake up one morning and all the worry and stress from the past six weeks would have suddenly disappeared overnight, leaving them free to simply enjoy being with one another again, happy and healthy. But nothing was ever that easy. Not with the two of them at least.

Lost in her thoughts, she didn't hear the sound of Lucy's bedroom door close, or Danny's soft footsteps as he padded down the hall. She gasped as she felt a pair of hands slide around her waist as Danny pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin on her shoulder. She sighed as she leaned back into him.

"Hey," he whispered, placing a soft kiss to her cheek.

"Hey," she replied, quickly swiping at her eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice that she'd been crying. He responded by tightening his arms around her.

"Baby, we don't have to do this if you don't want to," he said. "I don't want you to do anything that you're not comfortable with, or that you'll regret."

"Danny…"

"Linds, I promise that I will try and eat whatever you make for me tonight, okay?" he whispered. "I will. I want to get better. I hate feeling like I'm letting you down by not trying hard enough. Knowing that you would do this for me… I can't tell you how much it means to me. But I can't let you do this if it's not something that you really want."

She turned in his arms so that she was facing him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder as she burst into tears. She leaned into him, feeling safe and warm in his arms as he held her. He rocked her gently, rubbing her back and quietly whispering reassuring words in her ear until she simply couldn't cry anymore. As her sobs subsided, he stroked her hair, tilting her face up to look at him as he gently wiped away her tears.

"You okay?" he asked, his concern for her written all over his face.

"Yeah," she sniffled. "Yeah. I am. It's just… hearing you say that you'd try… for me? Danny, that's all I wanted to hear."

Pushing herself up on her toes, she pressed her lips against his, tentatively at first. But as she felt him leaning back into the kiss, she found herself letting go of her reservations, opening herself up to let him in, to let him explore her mouth with his tongue, finishing the kiss that they had started back in their office.

Her hands slid up his chest and she wrapped them around his neck, pulling him closer and deepening their kiss. She felt rather than heard Danny moan as she clutched at the short hairs on the back of his neck, tugging gently as her mouth hungrily devoured his own.

Breathless, they finally broke apart, both panting as they stared one another in the eye, both wondering what that kiss had meant to the other. Lindsay smiled as Danny rubbed her back, the corners of his own mouth turning up into a tiny smile.

"Wow," he said. "That was…"

"Amazing," she finished. "Absolutely amazing."

"Well, I try," he smirked.

"Ass," she said, smiling as she rested her forehead against his shoulder. "We were having a moment." She listened to him chuckle, his laugh rumbling up from deep in his chest.

"Sorry, babe," he replied, kissing her temple. "So… you were telling me how amazing I am. I'd like to hear more about that."

"How about I tell you over dinner?" she asked, looking up to gauge his reaction. He bit his lip, glancing over at the pots and pans bubbling away on the stove. She sensed his hesitation, seeing the flicker of anxiety that flashed across his face. "Danny?"

"I'm okay," he said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. "I'm okay." He looked down at her, giving her a nervous smile, his arms tightening instinctively around her as he tried to reassure himself. "Nothing's going to happen. It's all in my head, right? I'll be fine."

"I'll be right beside you, baby," she said. "I won't let anything happen to you. Please… just trust me." She cupped his face in her hands, her thumbs stroking the rough stubble on his cheeks as she smiled up at him. "Do you trust me, Danny?" she asked.

Without hesitation, he nodded his head. "Yes. I trust you."

"Then let me help you," she said, pressing a gentle and loving kiss to his lips. "And then you can help me. I scratch your back, you scratch mine, remember?"

* * *

Danny's stomach churned uncomfortably, his fingers drumming nervously on the dining room table as he watched Lindsay set out the various dishes she had prepared to try and tempt him. Every instinct in his body was telling him to get up and leave the table, to get as far away from here as he could. But whenever he felt himself about to give up, to walk away from the table, he heard Lindsay's soft voice in his ear.

_Do you trust me?_

He did. He did trust her. He trusted her more than he had ever trusted anyone. She was the only person he had ever fully opened himself up to, the only person he trusted enough to let her see him at his most vulnerable, his most flawed. But trusting her wasn't the problem. It was his trust in himself that he was having issues with right now.

He had thought that he knew his body, knew what he could expect of himself, and how hard he could push himself before he reached his breaking point. But thinking back to that courtyard, he felt as if his body had turned against him, leaving him weak and exposed when he had needed to be strong.

He had suffered from allergic reactions before, and although they had been unpleasant and always ended up with a stay at the hospital for a few nights while he recovered, this had been something completely different. If Shorewood had approached him as he had in the courtyard on any other day – on a day when he hadn't been fighting against his body's desire to starve him of oxygen – none of this would have ever happened. He wouldn't have had to deal with the physical and mental scars that now plagued him. He wouldn't have had to see their little girl upset that he couldn't play with her, or listen to his wife cry herself to sleep at night.

And although he knew deep down that he was being slightly ridiculous – that ultimately Shorewood was to blame for it all - he couldn't seem to shake the feeling that had his body allowed him to fight harder or be stronger, he could have saved everyone a lot of heartache and trouble.

"What are you thinking, baby?"

At the sound of her voice, he turned to see Lindsay sitting beside him, an encouraging smile on her face.

"I'm thinking… that this looks like a lot of food," he said, his eyes taking in the plates of food she had set out in front of him.

"Well, I wanted to give you a lot of options," she said, reaching out and taking his hand in hers. "Plus, you know… it's not all for you. I'm hungry too."

He laughed nervously, turning his hand over and interlacing their fingers. "Sorry… right."

"How about this, Danny," she said, stroking her thumb against the back of his hand, "You choose something for me, I'll take a bite, and then you take a bite. Sound good?"

"Okay," he replied. "Um… what do you want?"

"You choose, baby," Lindsay replied.

He sighed, looking over the plates laid out in front of him before he grabbed a fork, twirling it into the pasta with marinara sauce that Lindsay had made and holding it out to her. She smiled at him, opening her mouth and pulling the pasta from the tines with her teeth. Once she had chewed and swallowed, she took the fork from him, catching a few strands of pasta from the bowl and giving them a twirl so that they wrapped neatly around the tines. He watched her carefully as she raised her hand, bringing the fork to his mouth.

He locked his eyes with hers, squeezing her fingers tightly in his hand as he opened his mouth, his whole body trembling as he took the pasta from the fork. As soon as it was in his mouth, he felt the sudden urge to gag and he raised his hand to cover his mouth, clamping it shut and forcing himself to chew and swallow as fast as possible.

Once he was satisfied that the pasta wasn't going to make reappearance, he let out the breath he hadn't even been aware he had been holding. Lindsay squeezed his fingers reassuringly before pecking him sweetly on the cheek.

"You okay, sweetie?" she asked, her eyes searching his for a truthful answer.

"Yeah," he replied, his voice still shaking. "I just… I need a minute."

"Well, when you're ready, why don't you pick something else for us to try?"

Once he had collected himself, he picked up a chocolate covered strawberry from one of the plates, holding it out for her. She bit into it, sighing at the taste of the tangy fruit mixed with the sweet chocolate.

"Mmm… that's so good," she murmured. Reaching out, she took another strawberry from the plate, raising her hand and bringing the strawberry to his mouth, gently brushing the sweet fruit against his lips. Taking a small, hesitant bite, he braced himself for the wave of nausea he was sure was coming. He could feel his heart beating rapidly in his chest, but to his immense relief, he felt no urge to gag and the twinge of panic that had risen up inside of him passed relatively quickly.

"How was that?" she asked.

"That was… better," he replied, his surprise evident in his voice. "Much better."

"You want some more?" she asked, already reaching for another morsel of food.

They continued to take turns feeding one another, taking their time in choosing from the wide assortment of food Lindsay had laid out for them. Danny was pleased with himself, and he could tell Lindsay was happy as well, as each bite became less and less painful until he was almost able to enjoy the simple act of sharing a meal with his wife.

Finally, though, he had had enough and he held up his hand, shaking his head as she was about to pick out something else for him to eat.

"I'm done, babe," he said. "I'm sorry, but I just… I can't eat anymore."

"Are you full?" she asked.

"Close enough," he replied, grinning at her. He leaned forward, pressing his lips to her forehead. "Thank you, honey," he said. "Thank you for doing this with me."

She smiled at him, reaching her hand up to gently caress his cheek.

"I'm so proud of you, Danny," she said. "You did so good, baby. How do you feel?"

"I feel alright," he said. "A little stressed out… but in a good way, if that makes any sense."

"Not really… but I know what you mean."

"So, what now?" Danny asked.

"Well… now we clean up. And then…" she shrugged her shoulders.

"I scratch your back?" he said, winking at her.

"Something like that," she replied, placing a kiss to the top of his head as she stood up, grabbing a few of the plates from the table and heading into the kitchen.

* * *

Danny offered to take care of the dishes, letting Lindsay go and check on Lucy and to take a break after working so hard on dinner.

"You're sure, Danny?"

"Yeah, Linds. It's fine. I don't mind." He patted her backside as he shooed her from the kitchen. "Go relax. I won't be long."

She walked down the hall to Lucy's room, opening the door and peeking inside. She watched their daughter sleeping for a few moments, smiling as the little girl sighed and shifted lightly on the mattress. Lindsay stroked her head, smoothing out her blond curls before creeping out of the room and closing the door softly behind her. As she made her way down the hall, she could hear Danny banging around in the kitchen, the water running in the sink as he washed the dishes. She was so proud of him for finally letting her in, for letting her help him. She knew that it wasn't over, that he still had reservations, and that his fear hadn't simply vanished. But he had tried, and for Lindsay, that was the most important thing.

And now? Now it was her turn. She knew that he was hesitant, feeling as though he was forcing her to do something she wasn't ready for. But even though she was still nervous, the truth was that she wanted him. And although she would always treasure the closeness that had developed between them since Danny had returned from the hospital – the little intimate moments that had nothing to do with sex – she was finally ready to break down the wall she had built around herself, ready to share her whole self with him once again.

She stepped into the kitchen, walking up behind Danny and sliding her hand up under his shirt, her fingers grazing over the soft, warm skin at the small of his back. She pressed a kiss between his shoulder blades before she leaned up so that she could whisper in his ear.

"Leave the dishes, baby," she said.

"But… I'm almost done, Linds."

"Danny… leave them."

He wrung out the dishtowel, hanging it over the faucet and wiping his hands on his jeans before he turned to her, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her flush against his body. She rested her hands on his hips as she pressed soft kisses to his jaw.

"Linds… are you sure?" he asked. "I mean really sure? Because I don't think I could handle it if you were pushing yourself just for me."

"I'm so sure," she whispered, her lips brushing against his skin. "I'm ready, Danny. I want you."

Instantly, he fused his lips to hers, his hands moving to cup her face as he explored her mouth with his tongue. She let her fingers dip under the fabric of his shirt once again, drawing her nails across the skin of his back and letting out a soft whimper as Danny nipped at her lower lip, causing a flicker of desire to start simmering deep down in the pit of her stomach.

She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him along with her as she stumbled into the bedroom, their lips still fused tightly together as Danny kicked the bedroom door closed. Their hands worked frantically to rid themselves of their clothing, finally breaking their kiss so they could pull off their shirts.

She knew that tonight they had taken the first steps toward getting him healthy again, but as Danny dropped his wifebeater on the floor by the side of the bed, Lindsay couldn't help the wave of sadness that washed over her at the sight of his rail-thin body. It broke her heart to see her once strong and confident husband staring back at her looking so frail.

She reached out, gently running her fingers over the scar that marred his chest before skimming her fingers upwards and wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him down toward her. His face inches from hers, she could see the blue of his irises flashing with desire.

"I want you, Danny," she whispered. She leaned into him, her lips meeting his in a searing kiss. As she hungrily devoured his mouth, she felt his arms slip around her as he carefully lowered their bodies onto the bed, tangling his legs with hers, his hands softly skimming up and down her sides.

Starved for air, he broke their kiss, leaving her panting heavily as his lips trailed a path down her neck. He inched his way downward until he was level with her stomach and she watched as he pressed soft and loving kisses to her belly. She sighed as his tongue dipped into her belly button, her fingers gripping his shoulders, urging him to continue.

He crawled back up her body until he was level with her breasts, tenderly caressing the soft skin surrounding her nipples. Her fingers tangled in his hair as he took one of her taut nubs in his mouth, sucking and nipping until he had worked the sensitive skin into a tight, hard peak. As he moved to lavish the same attention on the other side, she arched her body into his, breathlessly moaning his name.

He began to kiss his way back up to her neck, his hands moving underneath her until he was cupping her backside. He gave her ass a firm squeeze before he slid his hands to her hips. While his mouth worked on the sensitive spot at the crook of her neck, he repositioned himself so that he was lying between her thighs and she responded by capturing him with her legs.

"Danny… oh, God!" she sighed as she felt his growing erection pressing firmly into her stomach. "Baby... oh God, I miss you… please…"

"What do you want, baby?" he whispered in her ear as he began to slowly grind his hips against hers. "Tell me. Tell me what you want Lindsay. Anything… I'll do anything for you."

Her breaths became more and more ragged as Danny's hands explored her body and she knew she couldn't wait any more. She felt so beautiful, so safe and so loved in his arms. And feeling his naked skin against hers, his warm body so inviting and clearly so aroused made her suddenly very aware of the deep longing and desire that she simply hadn't allowed herself to acknowledge during these past difficult weeks.

"Please, Lindsay," he whispered. "Tell me that you want me… tell me that you want this."

She dragged her nails down his back, her breath catching in her throat at the low groan that her actions drew from Danny.

"I want you, Danny," she sighed. "I want you inside of me… I need you to fuck me, Danny."

He crawled up her body, his lips meeting hers in a kiss that started out soft and sweet, but quickly turned passionate as their desperate need for one another increased.

"Danny… please…" she whispered against his lips as she tightened her legs around his hips, urging him on. "Baby, I need you…"

He pulled back from their kiss, affectionately rubbing his nose against hers. "You're sure, Linds?" he asked softly. "I don't want to hurt you."

She knew he was nervous, afraid of pushing her too far, too fast. She took a deep breath, gathering her strength as she rolled them over so Danny was lying on his back, her legs straddling his hips.

"I trust you, baby. You won't hurt me," she said as she positioned herself over his cock.

She felt his erection pressing against her opening, and as she lowered herself down onto him, she let out a moan of pleasure at the feeling of finally having his hard length inside of her after so long. Danny skimmed his hands up her thighs, gripping her hips with his fingers as she began to rock on top of him, their bodies quickly finding a gentle and loving rhythm as they moved together as one.

"Oh, God… Lindsay…" he panted, his hands reaching up to fondle her breasts. "Fuck… Baby, you feel so good…"

She let out a loud moan of ecstasy as he pinched and flicked at her nipples. Moving her hands from their resting place on his stomach, she placed her hands over his, letting him know that she loved what he was doing to her, how he was making her feel.

"Danny," she panted, "Oh, God… Oh, God. Yes! Yes! Fuck, yes!"

She leaned forward, capturing his lips with hers. Shivers ran down her spine as he moaned into her mouth, his hands sliding down to grip her hips once more as he thrust up into her. She let out a little squeal as Danny rolled them over, lifting himself up and hitching her legs over his forearms so that she could take him deeper, so that she could feel more of him.

Barely missing a beat, he began to move once again and she bucked her hips against his, his pubic bone rubbing against her clit with each movement, causing her to throw her head back into the pillow, her body arching involuntarily as she felt herself nearing the edge.

She fisted the sheets in her hands, panting Danny's name as their pace increased.

"Oh, God… Danny! Danny! Fuck, right there, baby… right there… Oh, God!"

She knew that he was getting close, his previously rhythmical thrusts becoming more and more erratic as he neared his climax. She grabbed his hand, guiding his talented fingers down between her wide-spread thighs and she bit her lip as she pressed his fingers against her sensitive bundle of nerves. She withdrew her own hand, gripping tightly to his shoulders as he rode her. He always knew exactly how to touch her, exactly what she needed to send her over the edge. And as he drew firm circles on her clit with his thumb, his cock moving deep within her, Lindsay finally let herself go, screaming his name as her body tensed, wracked with pulsing convulsions of ecstasy.

Moments later she heard Danny moan her name as came hard and fast, his whole body shaking with the force of his orgasm.

Panting heavily, their bodies drenched in sweat from their exertion, they clung to one another, neither wanting to be the first to let go. And as they lay on their bed, entwined with one another, Lindsay suddenly felt overwhelmed with emotion. She let out a sob, pressing her face into Danny's neck, her arms tightening their grip on him as she cried.

"Oh, God… Lindsay?" he asked. "Baby? Oh, shit, baby. What's wrong? Did I… fuck, Lindsay. Did I hurt you?"

Words failed her. There were no words to describe the immense relief that now surged through her body; their intense physical release having triggered a release of a different kind in her. She was finally free from the opression of fear and shame that had held her captive for so long.

"I missed you so much, Danny," she whispered into his shoulder, sniffling as she clutched at him, never wanting to let him go. "I missed you. I missed you. I missed you."

She felt Danny's body relax as the anxious tension that had built up inside of him during her emotional outburst began to ebb away. He kissed her shoulder, nuzzling his face into her neck as his own emotions began to rise to the surface.

"I missed you too, Linds," he murmured, his voice shaking as he struggled to hold himself together. "So much, sweetheart. So much."

Pulling back, he gazed down at her, smiling before he pressed his lips to her cheeks, kissing away her tears. He carefully rolled off of her, laying down beside her and pulling her close as she lay her head on his chest, her hand resting protectively over the scar where Shorewood had shot him. They lay there for a long time, simply enjoying one another's company in silence, enjoying the closeness that they had been missing for so long.

* * *

Danny listened to Lindsay's breathing, gently rubbing her back until he was sure she had fallen asleep. Carefully, he disentangled himself from her arms, pulling himself up off the bed. He pulled the blankets up over Lindsay, tucking them in around her so that she wouldn't get cold before grabbing his boxers from the floor and pulling them on. Wandering out into the kitchen, he glanced at the dishes still sitting in the sink. He reached in and pulled the plug, letting the now tepid water drain away. Then he turned to the cupboard, grabbing a glass from the shelf and pulling open the fridge to get himself some water, deciding that finishing the dishes could wait until morning.

As he poured water from the jug into his glass, his stomach let out a long, low growl. After returning the jug to the fridge, he turned and looked back at the dishes in the sink, smiling to himself. If he could do it with Lindsay's help, he should be able to do it on his own too, right?

He leaned forward, peering into the fridge, intent on finding himself something to eat. Instinctively, he reached for one of the meal replacement drinks he had become accustomed to having when his hunger got too much for him, knowing that even if they tasted like shit, at least they had some nutritional value. Placing the drink back on the shelf, he shook his head. He wasn't going to let himself use them as a crutch anymore. He could do this. He had done this, and he'd been fine.

As he poked through the fridge, looking for something quick and easy to snack on before he headed back to bed, something caught his eye. Shoving aside the milk, a huge grin spread across his face.

"He's a persistent fucker, I'll give him that," he muttered, pulling out a paper plate, on which sat the slice of pizza he had abandoned several hours earlier back at Ray's. He kicked the fridge door closed with his foot and placed the pizza in the microwave to gently warm it for a few seconds, being sure to stop the timer just before the buzzer sounded, so as not to wake Lindsay.

He pulled the paper plate from the microwave and held the pizza in his hands. He still felt a faint nervousness deep down inside, but it was nothing like the unbearable panic he had felt earlier when he had stared down at this very same slice.

He lifted the pizza to his mouth, inhaling its delicious scent before taking a small, tentative bite.

"Fuck," he groaned, taking another bite as soon as he had swallowed the last. "Oh, fuck that's good."

When he had finished the whole piece, he licked his fingers, staring down at the empty plate in his hand. "God bless you, Flack," he said to himself. "You're a fucking asshole, but God bless you anyway."

He tossed the plate into the garbage, flicking off the lights in the kitchen and making his way back to the bedroom, lifting the covers on his side of the bed and crawling in beside his wife. He reached out for her, wrapping his arms around her waist and molding his body against hers. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder, smiling as Lindsay let out a little sigh.

"D'you enjoy your pizza?" she mumbled sleepily.

He chuckled, pressing his face into her neck and kissing the sensitive spot just below her ear.

"And here I thought I was being all stealth," he chuckled. "What gave me away?"

"Mmm… you smell like pepperoni."

"Sorry baby," he said.

"S'okay. I like it," she murmured. "I missed it."

"Did Flack…"

"He dropped if off while you were giving Lucy her bath. Said it was a shame to let it go to waste, and that he was sure we'd fine a good home for it."

"Fuck. I hate it when he's right," Danny said, smiling as he buried his face in Lindsay's neck, breathing in her scent. "I'll just tell him you ate it."

Lindsay scoffed, smacking his arm lightly before turning her head and pressing a kiss to his cheek.

"You do that and your ass is mine, Messer," she chided him.

"My ass is yours anyways, babe," he said.

"Shut up you weirdo. I'm trying to sleep."

"Love you, Linds."

"You're a jerk."

"Love you."

"Hmph."

He grinned at her grumpiness, nuzzling into her neck and brushing against her soft skin with the bristly stubble on his cheeks.

"I love you," he whispered again. He smiled as she snuggled back into his body.

"I love you too, Danny. Now go to sleep."

Laughing, Danny kissed her shoulder. As he drifted off to sleep he let out a contented sigh, basking in the feeling of being truly satisfied – both physically and emotionally - for the first time in a very long time.

**

* * *

**

*Nervous silence*

**So… thoughts? I struggled with this one, not wanting to just wrap everything up in a pretty little bow (I felt that would seem just a little bit trite considering the story leading up to this chapter), but also not wanting to drag everything out for too much longer, for fear of getting too repetitive. **

**As always, I would love to hear your thoughts on this one. **

**** I'd also like to ask you all to brace yourselves. This story is winding down, and as it stands at this moment, I have only one more chapter planned for Mine, All Mine. It's in the works, but I'm really struggling with saying goodbye to this story. Also, the next few weeks are going to be extremely busy for me, and I'm not entirely sure when I'll get a chance to work on it. So please be patient, and keep your eyes peeled for more as soon as possible!**


	30. Chapter 30

**A/N: And so it is… all good things come to an end. I am looking at my calendar, and I realize that it has been nearly a month since I updated Chapter 29. I could easily fall back on the excuse that I've been very busy. But the truth is that I've been fighting with myself over the best way to bring this story to an end… there is so much that I wanted to cover, and a million ways it could have been done. The muse and I… well, let's just say that I am now officially convinced that my muse has Multiple Personality Disorder. ****She did not make it easy, constantly giving me ideas, only to snatch them away and replace them with something else after I had devoted hours to getting them written down.**

**Finally, I said enough is enough, and I sent her off to sit on the naughty chair to think about what she'd done. After she'd finished pouting, we made up and I have to say I'm pretty pleased with the end result. I can only hope that you feel the same way.**

**As usual, I'm blathering on here while you all patiently wade through my random musings. So I'll stop and let you get on with what you came here to do. Please enjoy Chapter 30.**

* * *

"I can't work with him here, Taylor! I can't and I won't!"

Mac sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and his forefinger. He lowered his hand and looked up at the angry man pacing back and forth in front of him.

"I think you're overreacting," Mac said, earning himself a withering glare.

"Oh, I'm overreacting?" Jones railed at him. "I'm overreacting? The man is a loose canon. He's unprofessional, he's got no self control, he's irrational and violent and…"

"That's enough!" Mac said sharply, silencing Jones's tirade. He took a deep breath, taking a moment to collect himself. "The incident between yourself and Detective Messer was unfortunate, but you and I both know that there were extenuating circumstances that led to that encounter… and that he is not the only one to blame for what happened."

"What?" Jones shouted. "Are you seriously condoning what he did? He attacked two coworkers, and if Flack hadn't been there…" he shook his head, "Well, let's just say that you and I, we probably wouldn't be having this conversation right now."

Mac was quickly becoming exasperated with Jones. After spending three months on medical leave, Danny had been cleared by his doctor to return to work, and Mac had been forced to inform him that due the altercation in the locker room with Jones and Collins, Danny would have to complete the remainder of his two weeks on modified assignment. He thought that carrying out the rest of Danny's sentence would appease both Collins and Jones, who had both returned to work quite sheepishly after their suspensions. Collins had surprised Mac, quietly telling him that he felt no ill will toward Danny, and that if he wanted to return to full duty right away after getting medical clearance, it would be fine with him. But Jones was another story. He had railed against the idea of Danny returning to work at all, claiming that if he was emotionally unbalanced before the incident with Shorewood, then he would surely be even more unpredictable now.

"I'm not saying that what Detective Messer did was right, or that there weren't other ways he could have handled it," Mac said through tightly clenched teeth. "But look at it from his perspective; his privacy had been horribly violated, the entire lab was digging through his life trying to find out who that video had come from and why… and then you - you and Collins - you go and spout off about his wife, making completely inappropriate comments about her when I had given a specific order to all employees that the subject of the contents of that video were not to be discussed. Especially not in the lab."

Jones scoffed. "Don't you dare try to make this my fault, Taylor," he said, his voice laced with loathing. "I was the victim here. He attacked me! So I made a few comments about his wife. So what? Occupational hazard, if you ask me. You flaunt your relationship around the office like that, people are going to talk." He shrugged his shoulders. "But the fact is, the thought of working in the same office as Messer literally makes me sick. I can't trust him, and if I can't do that, then I can't work with him."

"And what exactly would you like me to do, Jones?" Mac asked, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. "You want me to arrange your schedules so that you never have to work with him? Because I can tell you right now, that's not going to happen."

"What do I want?" Jones asked. "I want you to make a decision, Taylor. It's him or me. I'm one of the best lab techs in the state, my resume and credentials are impeccable, and any lab in the country would be more than happy to have me. But Messer?" he rolled his eyes. "Guys like him are a dime-a-dozen. He's got a shady past, he's impulsive and reckless, and since he's been here he's been on the department's radar for all the wrong reasons more times than I think either you or I would care to remember. He's not the kind of guy you want out there representing our lab, Taylor." He stared back at Mac, a smug smile on his face as he sat down in the chair opposite Mac's desk. "So, what's it gonna be?"

"Well Jones," Mac replied thoughtfully, "You've really left me no choice." He leaned forward in his chair, fighting back the urge to wipe the triumphant smirk of Jones's face. "I understand that Detective Messer came to find you the other day to apologize." Jones nodded his head and Mac continued. "And I understand that not only did you refuse to accept his apology, but you attempted to goad him into another altercation. Is that true?"

Jones stared back at him silently, his mouth moving but no sound coming out.

"Detective Messer is a good man, Jones. A good man," Mac said. "He felt a tremendous amount of remorse over his actions, and he was deeply worried about how that would affect his working relationship with you and Collins. And while Collins graciously accepted his apology, you dare to come in here, slandering a man who is not only one of my best and most dedicated detectives, but who is also still trying to piece his life back together after being the victim of a traumatic attack in which both he and his wife nearly lost their lives…" Mac shook his head in disbelief. "Gather your things, Jones. I want you out of here in one hour."

"Wh… what?" Jones stammered meekly, his eyes wide, his face pale. This wasn't going at all like he'd planned. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying you're fired."

Jones visibly withered as Mac's steely grey eyes bored into him. He slunk out of the office, his head bowed low, his shoulders slumped as he made his way down the hall. As he watched Jones disappear from view, Mac allowed himself a small smile as he reached for his phone, dialing a familiar number. He waited as he listened to the dial tone, drumming his fingers on the surface of his desk.

"It's Mac," he said when the call was answered. "We've caught a big case and it's all hands on deck. How soon can you get to the scene?" He listened to the response, his smile getting wider as he heard the excitement in the voice on the other end of the line. "Where is it?" he shook his head, biting his lip to keep himself from chuckling. "You'll never guess."

* * *

"No, Sean. Not like that," Lindsay said, trying to hide the impatience in her voice. How many times did this rookie need to have the same damn thing explained to him? "If you hold it like that, you risk destroying the evidence. You have to hold it like this." She took the tools from his hands, demonstrating the proper technique for the umpteenth time that morning.

"Oh. Okay. Sorry, Detective," Sean apologized, his cheeks flushing with embarrassment at once again having to be corrected. He gave Lindsay a shy smile. "I'll try to remember this time."

"It's okay, Sean," Lindsay said as she handed the equipment back to him. "I'm sorry if I've been short with you. I know that there's a lot to remember, and it can be pretty overwhelming. You're doing well. You just have to keep reminding yourself that everything we touch here has the potential to make or break a case, and we can never be too careful." She watched as he went back to work, his hands shaking slightly under her watchful eye.

She nodded encouragingly at him as he nervously looked up for her approval on his technique. Sean had been brought in to help fill the void while Danny was still on medical leave, working in the office to help with paperwork and performing simple tasks in the lab. Now that Danny was about to start back at the office, finishing out his two weeks on modified assignment, Sean had been given the chance to work in the field. She knew she should take it easy on him as it was his first time at a real crime scene. But it was difficult. His nervousness made him slow and clumsy, and there was so much to do already, that having to train him while attempting to do her own work had made for a long and tiring morning.

Lindsay smiled, remembering her first day at work here in New York. She had arrived from Bozeman only two days before and was staying on her Uncle Freddy's couch until she found her own place. She had hailed a cab from outside her uncle's place, not feeling brave enough to attempt to navigate the confusing and intimidating New York subway system on her own just yet. She had just settled herself in the back of the cab, giving the driver directions when her phone had rung. The voice on the other end of the line had been brusque and businesslike, introducing herself as Detective Bonasera and advising Lindsay to skip the lab and head directly for the crime scene. She had given Lindsay the address, welcomed her to New York, and hung up. Feeling lost and alone, Lindsay had passed the new address onto the driver, who had raised his eyebrows at her in the rearview mirror, but made no comment as he deftly changed lanes and turned the corner, driving around the block as they sped off in the opposite direction.

Lindsay had wondered at the time what the look from the cabbie had been about. When he pulled up at the given address, Lindsay had stared back at him with her mouth gaping open. "Are you sure this is the right address?" she asked as she glanced out the window, taking in her surroundings.

"Yeah. This is the place. 2300 Southern Boulevard," he drawled. "The Bronx Zoo."

"Okay," Lindsay said, more to herself than the driver. "Thanks." She handed him the fare then got out of the cab, grabbing the forensics kit she had brought with her from Bozeman before slamming the door and watching the cab drive away. She walked up to the front gates, seeing a uniformed officer standing just inside. She gave her name and said she was looking for Detective Taylor. He dug around in his pocket, pulling out a temporary ID card that Mac had left for her and pointing down the path that would lead her to the scene.

She followed his instructions and a few moments later she found herself standing inside a tiger enclosure, looking around for any sign of her new boss. She saw a few people milling around; a taller, dark-haired man in a trench coat who held a handkerchief up to his face and was continually sneezing, a few uniformed officers, and a serious-looking man crouched down inside the tiger cage, his hands inside the mouth of a live – albeit sedated – tiger.

"Can I help you, miss?"

She turned to see one of the unis had approached her. He was cute. A little young for her, perhaps, but definitely cute. She gave him a smile and explained that she was looking for Detective Taylor. He pointed at the cage and Lindsay nodded her thanks and made her way over to her new boss, introducing herself and asking if he wanted her to start processing. He greeted her and asked for her help with the tiger, as someone named Danny had was looking after the scene. She had thought he was referring to the dark-haired man with the handkerchief who was currently in the midst of yet another sneezing fit off in the corner. The voice behind her, laced with a thick New York accent had made her jump.

"That'd be me, Danny Messer. How you doing?"

She looked over her shoulder, searching for the source of the voice, and that's when she saw him. He was taller than her, but not as tall as the dark-haired man, and he was around her age. He was dressed in what must have been the New York equivalent of office casual in a pair of well-fitting jeans, a button down shirt and a sport jacket. His dirty blond hair was cropped short and stood out in what was clearly a carefully arranged mess on the top of his head, and he had a neatly trimmed goatee. But what caught her attention the most was his eyes; a clear blue unlike any she had ever seen that peered out at her from behind half-rimmed glasses. Momentarily, her mind went blank. If the uni from before had been cute, then she didn't know if there was a word that would accurately describe the man standing next to her. She gave him a nervous smile.

"Hi." She had kicked herself the moment the word was out of her mouth. _Hi? Really? That's the best you can come up with?_ She tried to listen to the instructions Detective Taylor was giving her, something about holding the tiger's jaws, but the other man had sidled up beside her, leaning in close and causing her heart to beat a little faster in her chest. She could smell his cologne, feel his breath on her cheek as he whispered in her ear.

"Just take a deep breath. Don't let him know you're afraid, because he can sense when you're nervous."

"The tiger's tranquilized. I'm sure I can handle it," she said with more confidence than she felt

"I was talking about Mac," he replied, his voice low and serious as he turned to walk away. "Oh, and make sure you call him 'sir'," he said over his shoulder.

Lindsay smiled at the memory. Danny had definitely made an impression on her that first day, and not necessarily the good kind. She had been beyond frustrated with him for the rest of her shift, embarrassed at having been the butt of his practical joke and infuriated at his insistence on calling her Montana. He kept it up for months, the teasing and the adamant refusal to call her by her given name, and it had irked her to no end. She didn't know exactly when it had happened, but one day a few months later she realized that she didn't mind his teasing as much. In fact, she actually enjoyed it and found herself giving as good as she got. And as for Montana? She was surprised to find that she didn't really mind it at all. Sometime during those first few months, so gradually that she hadn't even noticed it was happening, it had gone from being juvenile and irksome to familiar and endearing.

And now? Now she couldn't live without it. His gentle teasing and his nickname for her, they were the highlights of her day, allowing her a few moments of levity in a job that was frequently morbid and depressing. True, she got to go home to him at the end of her day, but it wasn't the same. Work wasn't the same without him. She missed the way he could read her mind, how he would know exactly what she was thinking before she ever vocalized a single syllable. She missed the way he paced around the scene, their office or the lab when he was trying to work things out, the way they bounced ideas off of one another. But most of all, she missed the way he made her heart do little flip-flops in her chest when he would look up at her over a piece of evidence, his blue eyes flashing with excitement over something he'd found. He'd give her a cheeky grin and a wink before moving on to the next piece of evidence.

She sighed, shaking her head as she brought her mind back to the crime scene. Six years later - almost to the day - and she found herself standing once again in the tiger enclosure at the Bronx Zoo. She thought it was strangely fitting that Sean's first day in the field should be in the same place as hers had been, and that she was now the mentor to the new kid. She looked around her, smiling in spite of her grisly surroundings and the macabre purpose for her presence there. She glanced at the familiar faces working diligently around her; Flack, Hawkes, Stella and Adam. She couldn't believe how close they had all become in the six years she had been in New York. They were like a second family to her, and each of them held a special place in her heart. A wide smile broke out on her face as she realized that in two weeks, Danny would be back out in the field and their tight-knit clan would be complete once again.

Chastising herself for allowing her thoughts to drift off while on the job, she turned her attention back to her work. So engrossed was she that it took her a moment to realize that Sean was trying to get her attention.

"Hey, Detective," he said as he tapped her arm gently. "Detective? Who is that?"

She looked up at Sean, her eyes following the path of his outstretched finger as he pointed to the entrance to the enclosure. Her friends and coworkers had gathered around the entrance and were all talking animatedly with one another, wide smiles on their faces. Lindsay tried to peer around the group to see who had arrived, assuming that Mac had finally made it to the scene after an unexpected meeting had kept him at the office all morning.

Finally, Flack moved out of the way and her heart leapt up into her throat as a familiar and unexpected figure stepped forward and bent to go under the crime scene tape. His hair was still carefully disarranged, but the goatee had been replaced by a scruffy five o'clock shadow. He hadn't worn his glasses for several years now, choosing to go with contacts instead, but his eyes were the same disarmingly clear blue. He was still startlingly handsome, although older now. There were fine lines around his eyes and a touch of grey at his temples. He said they made him look old and worn, but Lindsay thought they gave him a look of maturity that he hadn't had that first time she had seen him. And she wouldn't trade a single wrinkle or grey hair for the world. To her, they were a badge of honour, a reminder of what he had been through – what they had been through together – and survived. They were her proof that he was still here, that he was still hers.

She watched as his eyes surveyed the scene, taking in the familiar sights, a small smile playing at the corners of his lips. Then his eyes rested on her and her stomach fluttered when he gave her a wink, his smile broadening as he made his way toward her.

"Detective?" Sean asked again. A smile on her face that rivaled Danny's own, Lindsay leaned over so that she could whisper in the young CSI's ear.

"Just make sure you call him 'sir'."

"Oh. Okay," he said, getting to his feet as Danny approached. "Hi there, sir. My name is Sean Davies."

"Danny. Danny Messer. How you doing?" Danny replied, extending his hand to Sean.

"I'm doing good, sir," Sean replied as he shook Danny's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you, sir. How are you?"

Danny snuck a glance at Lindsay, his eyes blazing with mischief. "Never better, kid," he said. "And don't call me 'sir'. It makes me feel old."

He let go of Sean's hand and smiled as the younger man glanced uncertainly at Lindsay. She blushed and gave him an apologetic smile as he grabbed his kit and moved off to begin processing another area of the scene. When he was a few steps away, Danny turned to Lindsay.

"Not nice, Montana," he said as he set his kit on the ground and crouched down beside her. "Picking on the new kid? For shame."

"It worked for you."

"That's what I'm worried about," Danny said, nudging her playfully with his elbow. "What, you looking to upgrade to a younger model?"

"I thought about it," she replied, nudging him back. "But then I realized I'd have to break him in… and I just don't have the time for that right now. My slacker partner was late showing up to the scene this morning and I've had to do all this processing by myself."

He smiled at her, gently brushing a strand of hair from her cheek and tucking it behind her ear before he pulled on his gloves. "Well, your slacker partner is here now," he said softly. "So what do you need me to do?"

* * *

"Excuse me!" Flack said, standing up from the table, clinking his fork against his glass. "Excuse me, can I have your attention please!"

Mac smiled as Flack tossed a handful of nuts from the bowl on the table at Sean and Adam who were deeply engrossed in a Star Trek vs. Star Wars debate. "Will you two shut up for a minute?" Flack chided them. "And who the fuck cares if the Millennium Falcon is faster than the USS Enterprise?" He shook his head, rolling his eyes at the pair of them.

"Ha, ha!" Adam declared, raising his arms in victory, "I told you the Millennium Falcon was faster!"

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Flack muttered under his breath. "Do you mind?"

"Uh, sorry, Flack," Adam said. He grinned as Danny gave him a little thumbs up from across the table.

"Yeah. Sorry, Detective Flack," Sean said, blushing right up to the roots of his hair.

"Alright. Now," Flack began again, in his element with all eyes on him. "We've all had a very long and tiring day, and we owe a huge thanks to Mac for taking us out tonight to let off a little steam. So, I'd like to propose a toast to Mac. Thanks boss."

Mac smiled as everyone raised their glasses and a chorus of 'thank yous' reverberated around the table.

"My pleasure, guys," he said, raising his own glass. "After all the hard work you guys did today, you deserve it. But remember, only the first round is on me. You're on your own after that."

He laughed as everyone groaned at the prospect of buying their own drinks.

"Sorry guys," Flack said, shrugging his shoulders in defeat, "I tried. I guess if we want to do some celebrating tonight, we're going to have to shell out our own hard-earned cash." He grinned at Mac before continuing, his tone more somber. "And we have some serious celebrating to do tonight, people. Three months back, we thought we'd lost one of our own…" he paused, clearing his throat. He took a sip of his beer and continued, his voice trembling slightly. "And I know that I'm not alone when I say that I've had enough loss. I've lost too many people that I love over the years. First Aiden, then… then Jess." Nora, who had joined the group after her own shift at the hospital had ended, reached up from her place beside Flack and took his hand in hers, giving his fingers a little squeeze. "For a few days there, when we didn't know… Jesus, this is harder than I thought it'd be…" he trailed off, wiping at his eyes. "Bet none of you ever thought I'd be crying over Messer, did you?" he asked, earning a few watery smiles from the group around the table. "Fuck it. We're glad you're okay, man. We're glad you're back. We missed you." He raised his glass. "To Danny."

"To Danny!"

As the group cheered Danny, their glasses clinking together, Flack moved around the table to where Danny was seated between Lindsay and Mac and grabbed him, pulling him to his feet and into a tight hug.

"Good to have you back, Danno."

"Thanks, man," Danny said, his throat constricting after his friend's heartfelt words. "It's good to be back."

Flack pulled away, clinking his beer against Danny's glass of water. As Danny retook his seat, Flack leaned down and gave Lindsay a kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you, Don," she said, grabbing his arm and pulling him down for a hug.

"Hey, any chance I get to make an idiot of myself in public, you know I'm on it like white on rice," he said. "I'm just glad that we got something to celebrate, you know?"

"I know," she replied, giving him a teary smile.

Flack smiled at his two friends before making his way back to his seat, wrapping his arm around the back of Nora's chair.

"Well, at least something good came out of my time in the hospital," Danny observed, nudging Lindsay and pointing to where Flack and Nora were chatting quietly, leaning in to one another.

"They look really happy," Lindsay said, watching the pair for a moment before turning to her husband. She smiled at him, reaching up and gently stroking his cheek before she leaned in and placed a soft kiss to his lips.

"What was that for?" he asked. "Not that I'm complaining."

She smiled at him, taking his hand in hers. "Do you have any idea how happy you made me today?" she asked. "When I saw you this morning… It was like I was seeing you again for the first time. I just, I missed working with you. I missed my partner. Nothing seemed right without you there..."

"Linds…" Danny whispered, pressing his lips to her temple. She pulled back, smiling up at him, gently taking his face in her hands, her thumbs caressing his cheeks.

"I hated always coming in to an empty office, baby. I missed the way you always spread out your stuff so a little bit of your mess always ends up on my desk. I missed the way you look at me when you think I'm not paying attention, and the little notes you always leave for me on my desk when you go out to a scene."

He gave her a shy smile. "You said you hated it when I got my crap all over your desk."

"I lied," she whispered as she pulled him closer, brushing her lips against his.

"I knew it," he chuckled, turning his head and pressing a kiss to her palm. "You can't resist my charms."

"Never could," she giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck, kissing him sweetly. "I love you, Danny."

"Love you too, sweetheart."

"Oh, God." Their tender moment was interrupted by Flack's voice. "It's only been one day, and already I'm sick of the two of them. Get a fucking room!" Lindsay looked over her shoulder at Flack, sticking her tongue out at him as she stood, pulling Danny to his feet and dragging him from the table and toward the dance floor. As they passed Flack, she cuffed him on the back of the head, eliciting a loud chorus of laughter from the table.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"Mind your own damn business, Don," she laughed as she wrapped her arms around Danny's waist on the dance floor, pressing herself up against him. "We're having a moment."

"Alright. But just this once…" Flack said, narrowing his eyes playfully at the pair of them. He watched them for a moment, smiling at the contentment written on both their faces before he turned his attention back to the table, his arm resting comfortably on the back of Nora's chair.

* * *

"Danny? Are you awake?"

"Mmph."

Lindsay rolled over onto her side, reaching out into the semi-darkness until she felt Danny beside her. He was lying on his stomach, and she let her fingers drift over the smooth skin of his back, smiling as he let out a small sigh of contentment.

"Baby?"

"S'matter, Linds?" he asked, his voice hoarse and groggy from sleep.

"Mac told me about Jones."

Danny shifted slightly, turning his head so he could make out the faint outline of his wife silhouetted against the soft light seeping in through their curtains from the streetlights below.

"Good riddance," he mumbled. "What a prick."

She gave him a small half-smile as she continued to gently rub his back. "And Collins?"

"I talked to him a few days ago," Danny replied. "Apologized for… for busting his nose. And he said he was sorry for what he said, that it was wrong and that when he said it, he wasn't thinking about how it would affect us."

"How… how come Mac put you back in the field so soon? What about your modified assignment?"

"Mac said he talked with the brass, and they all figured I'd suffered enough," he said wryly. "I think Mac's words were that I'd done my time by proxy. He said that Jones was the only one that seemed to have a problem with me coming back, and since he was no longer in the picture…" he shrugged his shoulders.

"Do you… do you think you're going back too soon?" she asked. She felt the muscles in his back tense slightly at her suggestion. "I only ask because I don't want you to push yourself too hard, baby. You're doing so well, and…"

"I know, Linds," he said. "We don't want a repeat of the last time. I know." He sighed, rolling onto his side and pulling her into his arms. "But this time is different. It's not like before when I figured I could take on the world as soon as I was out of the wheelchair and had lost the cane. I know my limits, babe. I know what I can and can't do. No more running down suspects or leaping from buildings for me, I can tell you that much." He pressed a kiss to the tip of her nose before he continued. "And I'll make you a promise, Linds. If I get tired, I'll rest. If I'm hungry, I'll eat. And when I'm beat, I'll call it a day, alright?"

"Promise?"

"I promise, honey."

"Thank you, Danny," she said as she snuggled closer to him. They lay there for a few moments, Danny idly stroking her hair as she drifted closer and closer to sleep.

"I went out into the courtyard today."

Her eyes flew open and she pulled back, staring up into his face. "What?"

"This afternoon," he said. "Flack and me, we went down to get some food cause we were starving after being at the scene all morning. He got us a couple of hot dogs… said he owed me a lunch," he smiled softly as he saw the concern on his wife's face. "Linds, I've been avoiding that place like the plague. Now that I'm back to work, its harder to find excuses not to go through the lobby, you know?"

"And… how was it?"

"To tell you the truth, when we got to the door I thought I might throw up," he replied, tightening his arms around her petite body. "I kept telling myself that I could do it, that nothing was gonna happen… but in my mind I was freaking out. My hands were shaking and I couldn't breathe…"

Lindsay gently caressed his face with the backs of her fingers. "If you don't want to talk about it, baby…"

"No, it's fine. I want to. I need to. You need to know." Lindsay waited patiently while he took a deep breath, collecting his thoughts. "I was having a panic attack, and I think Flack thought I was gonna pass out. But I didn't, Linds. I just… I don't know, I just got through it. I thought about that night when you got me to eat… how I was so scared at first, but you were so patient, baby. You were amazing. And I thought if I could do that… then this should be a breeze, right? So I just did it. I opened the door and walked into the courtyard. And…"

"And?"

"And nothing. I felt nothing. I wasn't scared, I didn't feel sick anymore. I just… I felt… good. Normal."

"Normal is good, baby," Lindsay said, her voice wavering as tears of happiness began to trickle down her cheeks, the last vestiges of David Shorewood's hold on their lives crumbling and fading away like dust in the wind. "I'll take normal." She pressed her lips against his, wrapping her arms around him, suddenly needing to feel him closer. "Danny, I am so proud of you," she whispered against his lips. "So proud. I love you so much, baby."

"I love you too, Linds."

"Show me," she said. "Show me that you love me, Danny. Please, baby. Make love to me."

Needing no further encouragement, Danny captured her lips with his as he gently rolled her onto her back, his hands working quickly to help her shed her pyjama bottoms before he kicked off his sweatpants. He broke their kiss only long enough to pull her tank top over her head, tossing it aside as his lips found hers once again. He positioned himself between her thighs and she wrapped her legs around his hips, locking her ankles at the small of his back.

She let out a soft moan as he entered her and he lifted his head, gazing down at her. She cupped his face in her hands and smiled serenely up at him as he began to move, slowly filling her before he pulled back and filled her again, pouring out his love for her with each movement of his hips against hers.

"Tell me, Danny," Lindsay breathed as she moved her own body in time with his. "Tell me that you love me."

"I love you, Lindsay."

"Tell me that you're mine."

"I'm yours, baby. Only yours."

"Oh, God… Danny. Danny. Danny…"

She panted his name over and over again as he moved inside of her. Sensing her urgency, he quickened his pace, cupping her breasts with his hands. She let out a moan of satisfaction as he closed his lips over her nipple, her fingers seeking out the soft flesh of his shoulders as she gripped him, pulling his body flush against hers. He felt her heels digging into his backside, urging him to go faster, to go deeper, to give her the release she so desperately needed.

She writhed beneath him as he tenderly kissed his way back to her lips, one hand skimming down her belly, his thumb seeking out her clit, circling the sensitive bundle firmly as he explored her mouth with his tongue. Finally, he felt her body begin to tense beneath him as she moaned against his lips, her fingers digging into his back as she arched against him. He continued to stroke her clit as his own orgasm surged through his body. He broke their kiss, crying out her name as he buried his face in her neck.

He felt her chest heaving beneath him as they both struggled to catch their breath. She kissed his shoulder, his neck, his cheek, her hands gently soothing his shoulder blades where her fingers had clutched at him. He pushed himself up, smiling at her as he moved to roll off of her. But she held him fast, her legs still locked around his hips.

"Just… just stay like this, Danny. Just for a minute," she said as she ran her fingers through his hair. "Please, baby? I just need to feel you for a little while longer."

"Linds?"

"When I thought I'd lost you… this is one of the things I knew I'd miss the most," she said softly. "This moment, right here. I love this moment. Just after, when you're still on top of me, inside of me… I can't possibly get any closer to you." She smiled at him as she pulled him down, pressing a loving kiss to his lips. "Of all the things that make you mine, Danny, this is one of my favourites. No one else has ever made me feel the way that you do. I can't seem to get enough of you, I always want more. I want to see you more, hear you more, feel you more. You're everything to me, Danny. You're my life." He brushed her face with his thumbs, wiping away the tears that had begun to trickle down her cheeks.

"I know, baby," Danny said, kissing her cheeks, tasting her tears on his lips. "I know, because I feel the same way. I love you so much, Lindsay." He rubbed his nose affectionately against hers and he felt her legs loosen their grip on him. He rolled onto his back, and she quickly repositioned herself so she was pressed up against his side, his arm around her shoulders as she wound her legs in with his. She rested her head on his shoulder, her fingers tracing delicate circles on his stomach. He took her hand in his, interlacing their fingers and bringing them to his lips, kissing each one of hers before letting their joined hands come to rest on his chest, covering the scar that had already begun to fade away.

* * *

The End

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**

I have to say, as I'm writing this final Author's Note for this story, I'm tearing up just a tiny bit. Not necessarily at the content (okay, maybe just a little…) but because this story has been such a roller coaster ride of emotions for me. I've become very attached to this story, God knows why, and it's been so very difficult to find a way to say goodbye. I can only hope that you as readers will find some form of closure somewhere in this chapter.

Thank you to those of you who added either myself or this story to your list of favourites or requested author/story updates. Your support has been invaluable.

**Now, I have never done this before, but I would be remiss to end this story without issuing a huge thank you to all those people who supported ****Mine, All Mine through their reviews. Words are all I have, although they seem a poor means through which to express my gratitude for each person who took a few moments out of their busy lives to give me a word of encouragement after each chapter. Lord knows, there were times when I was just about to throw my hands in the air and give up. And I probably would have, had it not been for the knowledge that there were people out there who had a vested interest in seeing this story through to the end. I have tried to compile a complete list of my reviewers, and if you do not see your name, please… please let me know and I will make sure that I add you. **

**rhymes – September 12, 2010**

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Thanks to…

**rapidtetv**

**Alex Joleta**

**laurzz**

**uscrocks**

**Brinchen86**

**Dine89**

**jorizo**

**dannymesserforever11**

**hicktownhottie**

**afrozenheart412**

**JESSMARY25**

**kcatlin**

**Adelina Chen**

**daytimedrama**

**Elja**

**Crycrys**

**ioanhoratio**

**JessicaDelko**

**Meredith and Derek**

**CuteLioness**

**bugamartini**

**unlikelyRLshipper**

**juels4ya**

**Ditto123**

**LittleRedRoseLHH**

**abbelovesdannymesser**

**ZoeyBug**

**Christina5139**

**KTmac09**

**lily moonlight**

**The Little Corinthian**

**cklovesm-m**

**sweetydoe**


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